Metropolitan Joseph, in the
world Ivan Semyonovich Petrovykh, was born on December 15, 1872in the town of Ustyuzhnain Novgorodprovince,
in a lower middle class family. He finished his studies at the Ustyuzhna
theological school and the Novgorodtheological seminary and
then, in 1895, entered the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1899 he graduated from
the Academy with the degree of candidate of theology and a professor’s
scholarship. On September 9, 1900he was confirmed as
lecturer of the Academy in the faculty of Biblical history. On August 26, 1901,
he was tonsured as a monk by Bishop Arsenius (Stadnitsky), the rector of the
Academy, in the Gethsemaneskete.
Bishop Arsenius' words at his tonsuring had a great significance for Fr. Joseph
in his future life: "Now, when the name of God is blasphemed, silence is
shameful and will be counted as pusillanimity or insensitive coldness with
regard to the faith. May this criminal lukewarmness, which the Lord warns
against, not be in you. Work burning with the Spirit of the Lord."

On September 30, 1901, Fr.
Joseph was ordained to the diaconate, and on October 14 – to the priesthood. In
February, 1903, he was awarded the degree of master of theology; the theme of
his dissertation being: "The history of the Jewish people according to the
archaeology of Joseph Flavian". On December 9, 1903he was made inspector
and extraordinary professor of the Moscow Academy. On 18 January, 1904he was raised to the
rank of archimandrite.

While teaching Biblical
history at the Moscow Academy , Fr. Joseph came up against a powerful
anti-monastic tendency in the professorial body. “This polemic
between the professors of the Academy and the steward of the Holy Trinity – St.
Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Nicon (Rozhdestvensky) began already in 1902 and
unfolded on the pages of the journals Soul-Profiting Reading and The
Theological Herald. The professors subjected monasticism in its contemporary
form to sharp criticism and called on the monks to carry out in a practical way
the commandment of love for one’s neighbour in the form of social service.
Archimandrite Nicon defended the contemplative character of monasticism. The
articles on both sides were quite sharp in character. In March, 1904
Metropolitan Vladimir of Moscow banned an article by the Academy Professor N.F.
Kapterev, which was being prepared for the press as a reply to Archimandrite
Nicon. On March 18 an extraordinary session of the Academy Council took place
for this reason. The decision was taken to protest against the metropolitan’s
ban. Archimandrite Joseph did not agree with this decision, supported the ban on
the publication and expressed himself against N.F. Kapterev’s article because of
its unbecoming and sharp attacks and even ‘the poison of barbs, mockeries and
insults directed not only against opponents but also against monasticism itself,
but very well concealed under an external mask of objective scholarship’.

“For his words
Archimandrite Joseph was publicly and coarsely reproached by the offended N.F.
Kapterev, after which he left the meeting. The scene made a bad impression on
everyone, but Fr. Joseph was not spared – it was considered that he had received
his due for his conceit and his speech against the professorial corporation and
one of its most senior members. Professor I.V. Popov in a letter of April 16,
1904wrote: ‘Joseph set off straight
from the meeting to the elders at the skete. There he wept and wrote a petition
for his retirement…’ At Pascha a deputation from the professors was received by
Metropolitan Vladimir, who also summoned Archimandrite Joseph. In spite of the
warm reception and long conversation with the professors, the ban was not
removed, and Kapterev’s article was not printed.”

In June, 1906 Fr. Joseph
was appointed superior of the Yablochinsky St. Onuphrius monastery in Kholm
diocese. The monastery was in a very poor, run-down condition, and the Orthodox
in the area were surrounded by hostile Catholics. However, the young
archimandrite succeeded in bringing the monastery into a flourishing condition.

In 1907 he was appointed
to the Yuriev monastery in Novgoroddiocese.In 1909 he wrote
prophetically: “Now many are complaining about the hard times for the Church…
Remembering the words of the Saviour with complete accuracy, we must expect
still worse times for the Church… Without any exaggeration, she must truly live
through a condition close to complete destruction and her being overcome by the
gates of hell. Perhaps with us, exactly as in the land of freedom, America, they
will drive the Name of Christ out of the schools. They will adapt prayer
assemblies into ordinary meetings permitted by the police, as in that other land
of freedom, France, and will convert the heritage of the Church, together with
the very right of faith, into the property of the state. Perhaps the faith of
Christ will again hide in the woods, the deserts, the catacombs, and the
confession of the faith will be only in secret, while immoral and blasphemous
presentations will come out into the open. All this may happen! The struggle
against Christ will be waged with desperation, with the exertion of the last
drop of human and hellish energy, and only then, perhaps, will it be given to
hell and to mankind to assure us with complete obviousness of the unfailing
power and might of the priceless promise of Christ: ‘I will build My Church, and
the gates of hell will not prevail against her’ (Matth. 16.18).”

On March 15, 1909, Fr.
Joseph was consecrated Bishop of Uglich, a vicariate of Yaroslavl diocese in the
Holy Trinity cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra by Metropolitans Anthony of
Petersburg, Vladimir of Moscow, Flavian of Kiev and others. In the same year he
was appointed superior of the Spaso-Yakovlevsky monastery in Rostov, which post
he retained until 1923. He was in the see of Uglich for many years as the vicar
of Archbishop Tikhon (Bellavin), and from 1913 - of Archbishop Agathangelus
(Preobrazhensky).

From August 25 to
September 16, 1914Bishop
Joseph was temporary administrator of the Kostromadiocese. During this
period, short though it was, he did much to help the Russian soldiers and their
families at the beginning of the war. Bishop Joseph’s influence persisted, for
in 1946 the Moscow Patriarchate Bishop Anthony reported that “the Kostromaregion is
steeped in the Josephite spirit”, and that “to uproot this it is necessary to
open a series of churches that have been preserved”.

Between 1905 and 1910 he
published In the Embrace of the Father. The Diary of a Monk in 12 volumes
(St. Petersburg). He very much loved the Liturgy and served every day. He was an
expert in church chanting, and in 1911 went to Mount Athosin order
to acquaint himself better with the subtleties of ancient church chant.

Bishop Joseph did a great
deal for the Spaso-Yakovlevsky monastery. In 1909 he consecrated a church in
honour of the Tolga icon of the Mother of God, and restored the Conception
church. At Pascha, April 1, 1912, he consecrated the church of the Resurrection
of Christ, which had been built on his initiative. In 1913 Bishop Joseph met the
Emperor Nicholas in the monastery, and a little later - Princess Elizabeth
Fyodorovna. In 1916 he consecrated a chapel in honour of the Vatopedi icon of
the Mother of God, and in 1917 - a church in honour of the Mother of God, "the
Joy of all who Sorrow".

Bishop Joseph was a member
of the Local Council of the Russian Churchin 1917-18. From
December 1, 1917to January 20, 1918he was temporary
administrator of the Rigadiocese.

On April 26, 1919the relics of Saints
Isaiah, Ignatius, Abraham, Euphrosyne of Polotsk and Demetrius of Rostov had
been uncovered by order of the uyezd congress of soviets. Vladyka Joseph
organised a cross procession to protest against the uncovering of the holy
relics. On July 7, 1919he was
arrested for “breaking up the campaign to uncover the relics in his diocese by
means of ringing of bells and cross processions”. While he was in prison in
Yaroslavlthousands of his admirers
signed a petition for his release. On July 18 he was transferred to the inner
prison of the Cheka in the Lubyanka in Moscow. He was released in August.

On January 22, 1920Bishop Joseph as
promoted to the rank of Archbishop of Rostov, a vicariate of the Yaroslavldiocese, and lived in
the Spaso-Yakovlevsky monastery. In the same year he became temporary
administrator of the Novgoroddiocese (until 1925). On
July 8 he was arrested, and on July 26 was sentenced to one year’s conditional
internment in the camps.

During the renovationist
heresy, Archbishop Joseph shut himself up in the monastery and ruled his
dioceses from there, not taking an active part in the struggle with
renovationism - but not cooperating with it, either.

In May, 1922 he was
arrested, and on June 19, 1922the Yaroslavl
revolutionary tribunal sentenced him to four years’ deprivation of liberty for
resisting the requisitioning of church valuables. He was released on January 5,
1923on the
orders of Kalinin. From 1923 to 1926 he was temporary administrator of the
Yaroslavl
diocese.

On May 21, 1924Patriarch Tikhon
appointed him a member of the Holy Synod. On April 12, 1925he took part in signing
the act transferring the leadership of the Church to Metropolitan Peter. On
December 6, 1925Metropolitan Peter appointed
him third candidate for deputy patriarchal locum tenens after
Metropolitan Michael (Yermakov) and Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky).

In August, 1926 he was
appointed Metropolitan of Petrograd – in the words of the ukaz, “as a
consequence of the insistent request of the believers”. He was living in
Novgorodat the time, and was informed
of his new appointment by Bishop Alexis of Khutyn, the future Soviet
“patriarch”, who now became temporary administrator of the Novgoroddiocese. Bishop Alexis
had himself been considered for the Petrogradsee, but had been passed
over because of the people’s strong suspicion that “he could unite with the
renovationists”.

Metropolitan Joseph
accepted the appointment “out of obedience”, but objected to being called
metropolitan “of Leningrad”, rather than the pre-revolutionary name of
Petrograd. On August 29 / September 11 he arrived in the city. That evening and
the following morning, the feast of St. Alexander Nevsky, he celebrated services
in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

The future hieromartyr Fr.
Michael Cheltsov wrote: “there were no bounds to the jubilation and compunction,
joy could be heard everywhere and could be seen on the faces. There were the
most lively conversations and prayers of gratitude to God.” Metropolitan Joseph
served with Bishops Alexis, Gabriel (Voyevodin), Nicholas (Yarushevich), Stefan
(Bekh), Gregory (Lebedev), Sergius (Druzhinin) and Demetrius (Lyubimov). Of
these, two (Alexis and Nicholas) became pillars of the post-war Soviet church,
while all the others suffered martyrs’ deaths.

“The new metropolitan was
tall, grey-haired, with glasses, serious-looking, somewhat unsociable, as if
strict. He has something in common in his external appearance with Metropolitan
Benjamin. He walks with something of a stoop. He doesn’t talk with anyone in the
altar. He even sent a message through Bishop Gregory to one of the clergy who
was ‘conversing’ in the altar that he should be ‘quieter’. The clergy and
bishops immediately felt that the ‘master’ had arrived: they all pulled
themselves together. His voice was high, quite tender, pleasant, with a pure
diction. In general he created a good, pleasant impression.

“From a first glance at
him, Metropolitan Joseph inspired trust and sympathy… The monk with the
completely ascetic appearance attracted and pleased people; there was nothing
affected in his serving: it was simple and prayerful… People spoke of him as of
a true monk, a kind man, a fervent man of prayer who was responsive to the needs
and woes of others; one wanted to be near him and listen to him… And it seemed
to us clergy that he was precisely the man we needed, that he was the man who
could display that authority that compels to obedience, disperses opposition,
teaches order and disciplines with a single glance – in a word, that real life
would begin with him, that he would be Vladyka and Father amongst us.”

On September 13 in the
evening Metropolitan Joseph left Petrogradfor Moscow, leaving
Bishop Gabriel as his vicar. But he never returned; for while in Moscow, he was
summoned to the OGPU. On expressing a negative opinion concerning the planned
legalization of the Church to the OGPU departmental head of the Church division,
Eugene Tuchkov, he was sent to Rostovand forbidden to leave
that city. The OGPU justified their action on the grounds that he was “a
Johnnite”, who “secretly ordained people belonging to that sect”. As Fr. Michael
Cheltsov put it more truly, “Soviet power couldn’t leave us with even a little
well-being.”

Two weeks after his
departure, the liberal clergy of Petrograd addressed Metropolitan Joseph with
the following requests: “1) that he declare to the Administrative section
concerning his agreement with our memorandum [about the convening of a diocesan
congress]; 2) that he choose new vicars without a ‘past’ and acceptable for the
authorities; 3) that he try to remain neutral among the clergy groupings; 4)
that he leave his Eminence Alexis as vicar here; and 5) that he order that his
name be commemorated as ‘of Leningrad’, which, apparently, the rightists are
trying to escape.”

On September 28
Metropolitan Joseph was summoned to the OGPU agent Tuchkov in Moscow and was
offered three places of exile (Archangelsk and two other places) for three
years. Soon it was rumoured in Petrograd that this was all the work of the
liberal clergy, who were trying to replace Metropolitan Joseph with Bishop
Alexis. Indeed, Metropolitan Joseph’s vicar, Bishop Gabriel, petitioned to be
replaced by Bishop Alexis or Bishop Nicholas because of the liberal clergy’s
disenchantment with him. However, Metropolitan Sergius did not agree to this
because Tuchkov was still conducting negotiations with Metropolitan Joseph,
whose popularity was increasing all the more as a result of all that had
happened.

On December 8, following
the arrest of Metropolitan Sergius, Metropolitan Joseph became temporary leader
of the Russian Church as deputy of the patriarchal locum tenens,
Metropolitan Peter. The same day he appointed his own deputies as deputy of the
patriarchal locum tenens.

On December 16
Metropolitan Joseph was summoned to the Lubyanka, and on December 28 he was
arrested and told to live, without right of departure, in the former Modensky
Nikolayevsky monastery near his native Ustyuzhna in Novgorod(or
Cherepovets) diocese.

In March, Metropolitan
Sergius was released from prison and immediately began on his pro-Soviet course.
On May 10 Bishop Alexis, who had been forbidden to serve in Petrogradby Metropolitan Joseph,
appealed to Metropolitan Sergius to put his comrade, Bishop Nicholas of
Peterhof, in charge of the diocese. Metropolitan Sergius replied that “it is
first necessary to clarify the question of the position of Metropolitan Joseph –
whether he will be given the opportunity to return to Leningrador not…” In other words,
Metropolitan Sergius already made no appointments without the approval of the
authorities.

In July, 1927 Metropolitan
Sergius issued his well-known declaration, which placed the RussianChurchin submission to the
Soviets, and in the middle of August Bishop Demetrius of Gdov, Protopriest
Alexander Sovetov and other clergy of the Petrograddiocese sent a letter to
Metropolitan Joseph expressing their disagreement with the church position of
Metropolitan Sergius. Protopriest Alexander, the dean of the Holy Trinity
church, remained a pillar of the Josephite Churchto the end. He was
frequently arrested and was struck from the register in the 1930s as a “white
guard officer”.

On September 17, 1927,
Metropolitan Sergius, probably acting under pressure from the authorities,
transferred Metropolitan Joseph from Petrogradto Odessa. This aroused
the extreme dissatisfaction of the Petrogradflock, and in many
churches it was openly said that “Metropolitan Joseph has been transferred
wrongly in accordance with the report of Bishop Nicholas, who has evidently
slandered him.”

On September 28,
Metropolitan Joseph wrote to Sergius that he refused to accept it, saying that
he saw in it “an evil intrigue by a clique which did not want him to be in
Leningrad”. Then he wrote to Tuchkov asking that he be allowed to administer the
Leningraddiocese. Finally he wrote to
Sergius again rebuking him and his Synod for “a woefully servile obedience to a
principle alien to the Church”. He said that he regarded his transfer as
“anti-canonical, ill-advised and pleasing to an evil intrigue in which I will
have no part”. He clearly saw in it the hand of the OGPU, to which Metropolitan
Sergius was simply giving in.

Certainly, the fact that
more than forty bishops were transferred by Sergius in this period was one of
the main complaints of the confessing bishops against him, and seems hard to
justify by any purely ecclesiastical considerations.

However, on October 25
Sergius’ Synod confirmed the decision to transfer Metropolitan Joseph, and
appointed Metropolitan Sergius himself to the see of Petrograd. In the same
decision Bishops Demetrius and Seraphim were forbidden to leave the diocese
“without the knowledge and blessing” of Bishop Nicholas (Yarushevich).
Metropolitan Joseph heard about all this through messengers.

On October 25, Bishop
Nicholas (Yarushevich) proclaimed in the cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ
in Petrograd the decision of the Provisional Synod to transfer Metropolitan
Joseph (Petrovykh) from Petrograd to Odessa (the secular authorities had already
forbidden Metropolitan Joseph to return to the city). This caused major
disturbances in Petrograd. The discontent of the faithful was compounded by the
fact that on October 21 Sergius had ordered that the civil authorities be prayed
for during the Divine services, and prohibited prayer for the bishops in exile.

Metropolitan Joseph moved
to Rostov(taking the place of an absent
hierarch), and then, on October 30, he wrote to Sergius: “You made me
metropolitan of Leningradwithout the slightest
striving for it on my part. It was not without disturbance and distress that I
accepted this dangerous obedience, which others, perhaps wisely (otherwise it
would have been criminal) decisively declined… Vladyko! Your firmness is yet
able to correct everything and urgently put an end to every disturbance and
indeterminateness. It is true, I am not free and cannot now serve my flock, but
after all everybody understands this ‘secret’… Now anyone who is to any degree
firm and needed is unfree (and will hardly be free in the future)… You say: this
is what the authorities want; they are giving back their freedom to exiled
hierarchs on the condition that they change their former place of serving and
residence. But what sense or benefit can we derive from the leap-frogging and
shuffling of hierarchs that this has elicited, when according to the spirit of
the Church canons they are in an indissoluble union with their flock as with a
bride? Would it not be better to say: let it be, this false human mercy, which
is simply a mockery of our human dignity, which strives for a cheap effect, a
spectre of clemency. Let it be as it was before; it will be better like that.
Somehow we’ll get to the time when they finally understand that the eternal,
universal Truth cannot be conquered by exiles and vain torments… One compromise
might be permissible in the given case… Let them (the hierarchs) settle in other
places as temporarily governing them, but let them unfailingly retain their
former title… I cannot be reconciled in my conscience with any other scheme, I
am absolutely unable to recognize as correct my disgustingly tsarist-rasputinite
transfer to the Odessadiocese, which took
place without any fault on my part or any agreement of mine, and even without my
knowledge. And I demand that my case be immediately transferred from the
competence of your Synod, in whose competence I am not the only one to doubt,
for discussion by a larger Council of bishops, to which alone I consider myself
bound to display my unquestioning obedience.”

In November several
parishes in Petrogradstopped commemorating
Metropolitan Sergius. Part of the clergy turned to Archbishop Theodore
(Pozdeyevsky), who did not commemorate Metropolitan Sergius, and who was in
Petrograd, to make a protest in the name of all the clergy.

On November 24 an
important meeting took place in the flat of Protopriests Theodore Andreyev, at
which it was decided to write several letters to Sergius. A few days later one
such letter, composed by Fr. Theodore and Bishop Mark (Novoselov), was read out
in the flat of Bishop Demetrius. On December 12 a delegation headed by Bishop
Demetrius went to Metropolitan Sergius in Moscowand handed
him three letters, one of which was signed by six of the city’s eight bishops.
The petitions contained demands that Metropolitan Joseph be restored to the see
of Petrogradand that the decree of October
21 be rescinded.

On December 23, in
response to a report by his vicar-bishops, Metropolitan Joseph declared: “In
order to condemn and render harmless the latest actions of Metropolitan Sergius,
we have no other resort in the present circumstances than decisively to depart
from him and ignore his directives.”

On December 26, Bishops
Demetrius, Sergius, Gregory, Gabriel and Stefan, together with the priests
Veryuzhsky, Dobronravov, Rozhdestvensky, Nikitin, Andreyev, Venustov and thirty
to forty others, signed an act breaking communion with Metropolitan Sergius,
with the blessing of Metropolitan Joseph. Four days later some of these
signatories were banned from serving by Metropolitan Sergius’ synod.

On February 2, 1928,
Archbishops Anatolius (Grisiuk) of Odessa, Silvester (Bratanovsky) of Vologda
and Sebastian (Vesti) of Kostroma were sent by Metropolitan Sergius to
Metropolitan Joseph in Rostov to ask him: a) whether it was with his knowledge
and blessing that Bishop Demetrius of Gdov and Sergius of Narva were calling on
people to break communion with Sergius, and b) whether he separated himself from
those bishops. However, Metropolitan Joseph stood firm. He refused to re-enter
communion with Sergius or submit to his Synod, and announced that he was taking
upon himself the administration of the diocese.

Then, on February 6, 1928,
he, together with the hierarchs of the Yaroslav diocese, signed a formal act of
separation from Sergius. Two days later he announced to his Leningradvicars, pastors and
flock that he was taking upon himself the leadership of the Leningraddiocese. This persuaded
the authorities to arrest him, on February 29, and send him again to the
Modensky monastery. On March 11 Metropolitan Sergius and his Synod placed
Metropolitan Joseph under ban.

As Metropolitan Joseph’s
supporters in Petrogradwere continuing to grow,
Metropolitan Sergius sent Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov) there on February
19. However, the new hierarch (who had laid down as a condition of his journey
to Leningradthat Tuchkov “not admit
Metropolitan Joseph there”) was unsuccessful. And so, on March 27 Metropolitan
Sergius and his Synod retired Metropolitan Joseph and his fellow-bishops and
banned them from serving. On April 11 he was put on trial and retired. This was
ignored by Metropolitan Joseph and his fellow-bishops.

On August 6, 1929
Metropolitan Sergius’ synod declared: “The sacraments performed in separation
from Church unity… by the followers of the former Metropolitan Joseph
(Petrovykh) of Leningrad, the former Bishop Demetrius (Lyubimov) of Gdov, the
former Bishop Alexis (Buj) of Urazov, as also of those who are under ban, are
also invalid, and those who are converted from these schisms, if they have been
baptized in schism, are to be received through Holy Chrismation.” This decree
was also ignored by the Josephites.

Metropolitan Joseph wrote
to Bishop Demetrius “that we should each rule independently, directing our whole
gaze and all our hopes to the only lawful locum tenens, Metropolitan
Peter, and to the future Local Council of all our Hierarchs, and not of a chance
selection of them by individual people. It is only this lawful Council that all
the rulers and Synods must aim for now.”

When the Sergianist
Archimandrite Lev (Yegorov) accused him of being a schismatic, Metropolitan
Joseph replied: “We can only marvel at the indifference and blindness of those
others who still suppose that those who permit and carry out this iniquity are
doing he work of God, ‘saving’ and ruling the Church, and not crudely offending
and mocking it, inscribing themselves into the numbers of its enemies and
removing themselves from it rather than cutting off who can no longer stand this
baccanalia, crude violence and iniquitously blasphemous politics.

“… We will not give the
Church as a sacrifice and victim of the traitors and disgusting intriguers and
agents of atheism and destruction. And by this protest we do not ourselves cut
ourselves off from it, but cut them off from ourselves and boldly say: not only
have we not left, are not leaving and never will leave the depths of the true
Orthodox Church, but we consider its enemies, betrayers and murderers to be
those who are not with us and not for us, but against us. It is not we who
depart into schism by not submitting to Metropolitan Sergius, but you who
obediently follow him into the abyss of the Church’s condemnation…

"1. I am not at all a
schismatic, and I call not to a schism, but to the purification of the Church
from those who sow real schism and provoke it.

“2. Indicating to another
person his errors is not schism, but, to put it simply, putting an unbridled
horse back into the shaft.

“3. Refusing to accept
sound reproaches and exhortations is the real schism and a trampling on the
truth.

“4. The participants in
the construction of Church life are not only the people at the top, but the
whole Church body, and the schismatic is he who takes to himself rights that
exceed his prerogatives, and who dares to speak in the name of the Church that
which his brothers do not share.

“5. Metropolitan Sergius
has shown himself to be such a schismatic. He has far exceeded his prerogatives
and rejected and despised the voice of many hierarchs who retained the pure
truth among themselves.

“In passing you mention
among the ways to the truth ‘Christ indicated to us yet one more, new path: that
you love one another’, which way, it would seem, you consider that I have left
out of sight in my actions. In reply I would remind you, Father, of the
wonderful conclusion of Metropolitan Philaret in his sermon on love for one’s
enemies: ‘Despise the enemies of God, strike the enemies of the fatherland, love
your enemies’.

"The defenders of Sergius
say that the canons allow one to separate oneself from a bishop only for heresy
which has been condemned by a council. Against this one may reply that the deeds
of Metropolitan Sergius may be sufficiently placed in this category as well, if
one has in view such an open violation by him of the freedom and dignity of the
Church, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

"But beyond this, the
canons themselves could not foresee many things, and can one dispute that it is
even worse and more harmful than any heresy when one plunges a knife into the
Church's very heart - Her freedom and dignity?.. 'Lest imperceptibly and little
by little we lose the freedom which our Lord Jesus Christ, the Liberator of all
men, has given us as a free gift by His own Blood' (8th Canon of the Third
Ecumenical Council)...

"Perhaps I do not dispute
that 'there are more of you presently than of us'. And let it be that 'the great
mass is not for me', as you say. But I will never consider myself a schismatic,
even if I were to remain absolutely alone, as one of the holy confessors once
was. The matter is not at all one of quantity, do not forget that for a minute:
'The Son of God when He cometh shall He find faith on the earth?' (Luke
18.8). And perhaps the last 'rebels' against the betrayers of the Church and the
accomplices of her ruin will be not only bishops and not archpriests, but the
simplest mortals, just as at the Cross of Christ His last gasp of suffering was
heard by a few simple souls who were close to Him."

Metropolitan Joseph
continued this theme in a letter “to a soul languishing amidst the adversities
and storms of the sea of the present world”: “The word of the Lord did not lie
when He promised that He would be with us to the end of the world and preserve
His Church not overcome by the gates of hell, that is, on the edge of
destruction. Yes, we are now on the edge of destruction, and many, perhaps, will
perish; the Church of Christ
will become smaller, perhaps reduced again to the twelve, as at the beginning of
her foundation. After all, these words of the Lord also cannot fail to be
fulfilled: ‘The Son of God when He cometh shall He find faith on the earth?’

“Everything happens in
accordance with the foreknowledge of the Lord. People cannot add or take away
one iota from it. Those who do not wish to perish are more insured against
destruction and one can say: hell will be only for those who themselves want it.
May this truth remain first of all as a comfort and encouragement for those who
are despondent from the events of this world. Being deprived of the churches of
God and the former magnificent services with their abundance of worshippers and
glittering hosts of clergy, the angelic chanting of the choirs, etc. – this is,
of course, sad and regrettable. But we have not been deprived of the inner
service of God in quietness and compunction and concentration of the spirit
within itself. Just as the well-known explorers who, deprived of the ship on
which they were travelling, nevertheless did not perish but were able to create
a tolerable life for themselves even on chunks of deceptive ice until they were
raised from the abyss that was threatening to engulf them on the wings of
aeroplanes, so we, after the pitiful fall of our spiritual ships, must not give
in to panic and lose our self-control and hope of salvation, but must calmly
begin our prayerful labour of serving the Lord and taking our delight in him ‘in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’, as the Apostles and all the believers
prayed at the beginning.

“Did our majestic
churches, bell-towers and magnificent services exist then? And the absence of
all this hinder them from being inflamed with such a love for the Lord as no
succeeding age has attained?...”

In fact, fifteen out of
the eighty-five churches of Petrograddeclared in favour of
Metropolitan Joseph. Of these only four later changed and joined Metropolitan
Sergius under threat of liquidation, while eleven were closed by the
authorities. Metropolitan Joseph ruled his flock through his vicar-bishops
Demetrius of Gdov and Sergius of Narva; and his supporters could visit him in
the Nikolo-Modensky monastery.

During his interrogation,
Metropolitan Joseph said: “The matter in connection with which I have been
charged is based on the opinion of me as the leader of a particular tendency in
our Church, which arose four years ago in connection with the declaration of
Metropolitan Sergius, who crudely violated, in the opinion of believers, the
deepest foundations of the structure of Church life and administration,... and
elicited, simultaneously and everywhere, independently of any personalities, a
correspondingly strong reaction in Church circles without any participation or
influence on my part...

“This tendency has been
quite unjustly named ‘Josephism’, an injustice which Metropolitan Sergius
himself has pointed to in his correspondence. It could with much more justice be
called ‘antisergianism’. Moreover, I myself was drawn into this tendency
significantly later; it did not follow after me, but rather I was drawn in its
wake, and I did not agree with many of its deviations to the right and to the
left. And even if I and my participation in this movement were completely
eliminated, it would go on without stopping and without the least possibility of
its being completely eradicated....

“This movement could not
be stopped even by the name and authority of our chief leader, Metropolitan
Peter. Every attempt of this kind would be interpreted as a departure from sound
reasoning, from the truth, and would unfailingly end only in the falling away of
the believing masses from Metropolitan Peter himself.”

Concerning the role of his
deputy, Bishop Demetrius, Metropolitan Joseph said: “At first Bishop Demetrius
was my deputy only in the Leningraddiocese, but later, when
the antisergianist movement had spread far beyond the bounds of the Leningraddiocese, I could not
forbid him, and myself agreed with him, to counsel all those who came to him for
direction. Bishop Demetrius himself kept me informed with regard to all
questions; he asked for advice and directions from me, as his metropolitan.”

On July 24 / August 6,
1928, Metropolitan Joseph wrote to Archbishop Demetrius of Gdov with regard to
the "capitulation" of the Yaroslavl
hierarchs to Metropolitan Sergius: "There were also those who fell away from the
Lord, going away from Him and leaving Him in the amazing minority of twelve.
Then these twelve (however, even in this small number there later turned out to
be a 'devil' (John 6.66-71)) then grew into what we now so carefully wish
to preserve and protect from new traitors and destroyers, which these destroyers
have again managed to reduce to an 'insignificant minority'. But let that not
disturb us! Let us firmly remember that the Truth Himself was crucified by a
majority (an overwhelming majority) of votes, and let those who now refer in
their own justification to the majority rather read in this a terrible reproach
and rebuke for themselves, that in their 'majority' Christ the Truth is again
crucified!"

On September 12, 1930Vladyka Joseph was
arrested in the Modensky monastery as part of “The Case of the All-Union Centre
of the True Orthodoxy, 1931”. He was under interrogation in Petrogradand then (from December)
in Moscow. On September 3, 1931he was convicted of
being “the leader of the church-administrative centre of the All-Union
counter-revolutionary monarchist organization, ‘The True Orthodox Church’”. The
indictment declared that “the leadership of the anti-Soviet activity was carried
out on the orders of the participant in the church-political centre, M.A.
Novoselov. The anti-Soviet activity was directed by his deputy in leading the
organization, Bishop Demetrius (Lyubimov). He received and instructed the
leaders of the branches and cells of the organization that came to him, giving
them instructions on the direction and methods of counter-revolutionary activity
and recommending them to prepare to support intervention”. In accordance with
article 58-11 Metropolitan Joseph was sentenced to five years in the camps
commuted to exile to the desert of Kazakhstanfor five years. He lived
first in Dzhambul(now
Aulie-Ata), and then, from 1935, in the Mirzoyane area near Chimkentin
Southern Kazakhstan, working as an accountant.

Together with Metropolitan
Joseph from about 1935 was Archimandrite Arsenius. He was born Boris
Grigoryevich Kordi on June 21, 1907in Ivanovo-Voznesensk
into a family of Russianized Greeks. He lost his mother when he was young and
lived with his father, an official on the railways, and his sisters in the city
of Rostov, Yaroslavlprovince. In 1921, after the
death of his father, he went to a special school with an agricultural bent in
Pushkino, near Moscow. He was greatly influenced by his teacher of mathematics
there, Oleg Pol (Burdanov), later Hieromartyr Onesimus. If in the beginning
Boris wavered between theosophy, of which there were many followers among the
teachers in the school, under the influence of Oleg his world-view became
profoundly Orthodox. In 1924 the school closed, and Boris entered the Abramtsevo
Schoolof art, where he learned how to
sculpt in wood. His friendship with Oleg, who had gone and settled in a secret
skete in Abkhazia near Krasnaya Polyana, did not cease, and soon, after visiting
him there, he decided to go there for good and become a monk there. And so from
1926 to 1929 he struggled in the Peus skete on Chugush in the Caucasus. He took
part in the writing of the anti-sergianist book, “Near Sunset” (samizdat). He
was arrested on October 8, 1929, and on February 27, 1930 was sentenced to eight
years in one of the Siberian camps.From 1935 to 1937 he was
in exile in Aktybinsk and then in Alma-Ata. He was raised to the rank of
archimandrite by Metropolitan Joseph. On October 26, 1937he was arrested and
accused of participation in “an anti-Soviet organization of churchmen”. On
November 16 he was shot in Alma-Ata.

Protopresbyter Michael
Polsky quotes an eyewitness account of Metropolitan Joseph's life in exile:- "In
August, 1936, there lived in Alma-Ataa comparatively young
archimandrite, Arsenius. From him I first heard that there existed a secret,
underground Church led by Metropolitan Joseph of Petrograd and organized by him
with the blessing of Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsa with whom he, living in
exile in Chimkent, about 100 versts from Alma-Ata, had secret communications all
the time. Arsenius was ordained by the metropolitan and had the happiness of
supporting him materially, earning his living by the sale of models of various
figurines and knick-knack for museums. He had a church deep under the earth and
Metropolitan Joseph served in it. The metropolitan also consecrated it secretly
on one of his occasional visit from Alma-Ata. Father Archimandrite dug out this
church with great and lengthy labour.

"We greatly respected
Archimandrite Arsenius, the more so that he was loved by Metropolitan Joseph and
through him we could have a link with him. At that time the metropolitan lived
in Chimkent. Before then, from the very beginning of his exile, he lived in the
small town of Auliet, where he was not allowed to live in a room, but they put
him up in a shed with cattle, partitioning off a hammock with poles.

"The church dug in the
earth was in the room of Archimandrite Arsenius. In the ante-room there was a
hatch covered with a carpet. The cover was taken away and underneath a stairway
led to the church. In the cellar in a corner there was an opening in the earth
filled with stones. When the stones were taken away one had to crawl, bent down,
for three paces and there was the entrance to the temple. There were many icons,
and oil-lamps burned. Metropolitan Joseph was very tall, and when I was there he
went there twice altogether and entered the church. A special atmosphere was
created, but I shall not conceal the fact that fear manifested itself during the
time of the Divine service, especially at night - it was difficult to overcome
this feeling. When a big watchdog began to bark, albeit at a distance, outside,
everything was audible under the earth, and everyone expected the shouting and
stamping of the GPU. Throughout 1936 and until September, 1937, everything
worked out well. My son chanted there with a nun. On August 26 Metropolitan
Joseph arrived and granted us a visit on the day of my angel. What a wonderful,
humble, unshakeable man of prayer! This was expressed in his appearance and in
his eyes as in a mirror. He was very tall, with a great white beard and an
unusually fine face. One could not help being attracted to him, and would wish
never to be parted from him. His monastic clothing was covered, as was his hair,
otherwise they would have arrested him while he was still in the street; for
they shadowed him and he did not have the right to leave... He said privately
that Patriarch Tikhon had proposed, shortly after his election, to appoint him
as his first deputy. For some reason this fact is nowhere mentioned in the
history of the locum tenancy in the Church…

"He recognized
Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsa as the lawful head of the Church, and right until
his last arrest in September, 1937, he had secret relations with him at a time
when rumours were spreading everywhere that Metropolitan Peter was dead.
Concerning his 10-year exile, he said that up to that time it had been
exceptionally hard. He lived on bread with pigs in a wattled shed, and slept on
boards, separated from the pigs by a few poles. He bore cold and heat, every
kind of bad weather and the oppressive atmosphere in these conditions. Once a
snake, clinging onto a pole from the ceiling, fell on his head. These conditions
were evidently the reason for his illness. At times he suffered very much from
an ulcer in the bowels, or he had some kind of interior tumour, perhaps
cancerous, and he was on a diet which Archimandrite Arsenius helped him to carry
out. He bore everything as a righteous man and if he spoke about his difficult
persecutions, it was only because we were all recalling the cruelties of the
GPU.

"Father Archimandrite told
us about one form of torment and humiliation. 'When they took us through
Siberia, the frost was cruel. In the train there was a bath-compartment. They
drove us completely naked through the compartments to the bath. Joyfully we
poured the hot water over ourselves and warmed ourselves a little, since the
compartments were almost unheated. Then they drove us back, not giving us
anything to dry ourselves with, our heads wet. They deliberately kept us on the
iron platform, and our wet feet, momentarily froze to the iron. At the command:
"Forward!" we tore our frozen, bloody feet away'...

"The next day, having
spent the night at the archimandrite's, the metropolitan departed to his own
place. Now he lived in different conditions. After many years we had been
allowed to find him a flat in Chimkent. Archimandrite Arsenius built him a room
where he could live undisturbed and took care about his food, making sure not
only that he got enough but also that he kept to the diet. First he got him a
zither, then a harmonium, with which the metropolitan, a great musician, was
very pleased. He set psalms to music and chanted.

"On September 23, 1937, in
the neighbourhood of Alma-Ataand in
Kazkhstan, all the clergy of the secret 'Josephite' churches were arrested. They
left for voluntary exile for refusing to recognise the 'Soviet church'. All were
sentenced to ten years without right of appeal, and, as I learned later, the
metropolitan was also among them. He was arrested with Archimandrite Arsenius.
After the arrest of my son, I ran distractedly to his house and, as I came up,
saw a car and the GPU going in. Happily, they did not notice me. The catacomb
church of Fr. Arseniuswas opened. Once he had
carelessly revealed its secret to what seemed to be an honourable elderly man,
but who turned out to be a chekist.

"Returning to Moscow after
my three-year voluntary exile with my son, I soon found about the existence of
secret 'Josephite' churches here - that is, not churches, but services in hidden
rooms where sometimes 20-25 people gathered. The service went on in a whisper,
with strict control of the worshippers, because of the possibility of betrayal.
They usually came to the meeting according to an agreed sign, knocking carefully
at a water-pipe by the window, where someone was standing listening.

"One old priest monk,
Fr. Alexander Gumanovsky, selflessly travelled everywhere that he was
called, and the Lord even managed that he should give communion to the sick in
hospitals. Sitting by them like a visitor, he confessed them and then, as if
giving them some medicine or food, gave them Holy Communion."

Nun Maria, in the world Marina
Stanislavovna Burdanova was born in 1878 in Kiev into a noble family that was
half Russian and half Polish. In her first marriage she was married to the
pianist and composer Vladimir Ivanovich Pol. Marina Stanislavovna, a very
beautiful woman, was a singer. Two children were born to her: a son Oleg (born
1900) and a daughter Tamara. At the beginning of the 1900s her marriage
collapsed. Soon she married the artist Burdanova and bore him three daughters.
At that time Marina Stanislavovna and her husband were Tolstoyans. The family
were strict vegetarians. Marina Stanislavovna taught music and singing. In 1914
the family was evacuated from Kiev to Moscow. Her son Oleg went to live with his
father until the latter emigrated to Paris in 1917. In Moscow Marina
Stanislavovna continued to teach music and singing. From 1921 to 1924 she and
her son Oleg taught near Moscow in the Pushkinskaya Experimental colony-school.
There they became close to Boris Grigoryevich Kordi, the future Hieromartyr
Arsenius, who was a complete orphan. In 1926 Marina’s dearly beloved son Oleg
went to live an ascetic life in the mountains of Abkhazia, where he was soon
followed by Boris Kordi. In 1927 Oleg was tonsured into monasticism with the
name Onesimus, and in 1929 he was ordained to the priesthood. In 1929 Hieromonks
Onesimus (Pol) and Arsenius (Kordi) were arrested. Fr. Arsenius was sentenced to
five years in prison, while Hieromonk Onesimus was shot in 1930. After
the death of her son Marina Stanislavovna lived for a while near Zvenigorod in
the village of Dunino at the invitation of Valeria Liorko. She converted to
Orthodoxy and in 1930 joined the choir of the church of St. Nicholas the Big
Cross, while continuing to work as a teacher. In 1932 the church was closed, and
Marina Stanislavovna moved to the last True Orthodox church in Moscow, that of
the Serbian podvorye. On April 14, 1932 she was arrested, and on May 16
was convicted of being “a member of the church-monarchist counter-revolutionary
organization ‘The True Orthodox Church’”. In accordance with article 58-11, she
was exiled for three years to Kazakhstan. This was part of “the case of Ananin
and others, Moscow, 1932”. In 1935 Marina Stanislavovna was tonsured secretly
into monasticism with the name Maria. She lived in Alma-Ata, and at the end of
her sentence decided to stay there, working as a teacher in a music school. She
was in canonical communion with Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh) with whom her
son had been linked. After the release of Hieromonk Arsenius she adopted him and
took him to Alma-Ata, where they lived together, organizing a secret church in
her house. On October 26, 1937 they were both arrested together with other
exiled clergy and laity. On November 16, she was convicted by the UNKVD of
“participation in a counter-revolutionary church organization linked with
Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh) under the direction of Arsenius (Kordi)”. The
sentence was imprisonment in Alma-Ata, where Nun Maria died during a convoy of
prisoners from one place to another. The place and date of her death are
unknown.

According to Nina
Alexeyevna Kitayeva, Metropolitan Joseph lived on the outskirts of Chimkent,
in Poltoratskaya street, near an irrigation canal beyond which stretched the
untilled steppe. He had a room in a small Kazakh house with a light in the
ceiling, a chair, a trestle bed on which he slept and a pair of chairs. He got
up at six o’clock, served at his analoy behind which he placed a carved folding
icon, went to the market to buy some things, had breakfast, rested a little and
then sat down to read. The local exiles sent him books. Parcels and money came
to him from Russiaon occasion. Sometimes exiles
would visit him, and he went out into the steppe to talk with them.

He was served by Nun
Maria (Koronatova), a former teacher in Ustyuzhna who had known Vladyka
since childhood. She was arrested in Ustuyzhna on January 7, 1931and sent to prison.
Three months later she was given “voluntary exile” to Western Siberia, first to
Novosibirsk, and then to the transit camp in Tomsk. In 1933, probably through
the intercession of E.P. Peshkova of the Political Red Cross, she was living in
Kazakhstan, and was able to look after Vladyka. In 1937 she was arrested and
sentenced to ten years in the camps. She served her term at colony no. 9,
Chamolgan station, on the Turkestan-Siberian railway. She fell ill and probably
died in 1942.

On June 24, 1937Metropolitan Joseph was
arrested on a charge of “counter-revolutionary activity”. Metropolitan Cyril was
arrested on the same day and on the same charge. The previous day the NKVD
Administration for the Chimkentprocurator had
announced: “In South Kazakhstanprovince there exists a
counter-revolutionary organization among the churchmen whose centre is in
Chimkent. The task of the counter-revolutionary organization is to prepare
counter-revolutionary cadres for the overthrow of Soviet power. Among the active
members of the organization we find the names of Metropolitan Joseph,
Metropolitan Cyril and Bishop Eugene (Kobranov).”

“During the search and
arrest,” writes A.V. Zhuravsky, “Metropolitans Cyril and Joseph behaved calmly
and with dignity. Metropolitan Joseph even wrote in his own hand on the order
presented to him: ‘I have read the order and am perplexed why there are no
sanctions from the procurator. I.S. Petrovykh.’ The correspondence removed (121
pages from Metropolitan Joseph) was attached to the investigatory case initiated
by the authorities.”

On July 7 the three
bishops were formally accused. Metropolitan Joseph refused to sign the
accusation presented to him. Instead of his signature, the investigator wrote:
“counter-revolutionary”.

“The conditions of the
prisoners’ detention in Chimkentprison
were unendurable. The prison guards, carrying out the commands of the
investigators, did not allow the prisoners to sleep, trying to bring the
arrestees to extreme exhaustion. The food was intolerable, the water smelt of
clay. It was through these conditions that the prisoners were prepared for
interrogation. It is known that some of them gave in at this stage and signed
any ‘confessions’, just so as to be condemned as quickly as possible and thereby
avoid the terrible conditions in the prison.”

The first to be summoned
for interrogation was Bishop Eugene. The next was Metropolitan Joseph. “The
interrogation, which took place on July 14, brought the investigation only one
result – Vladyka Joseph admitted his guilt in the leadership of ‘an illegal
religious organization’. He did not admit the political accusations (anti-Soviet
or counter-revolutionary activity). To the question in what did his leadership
of the illegal organization consist, Metropolitan Joseph replied: ‘in leading
the local religious organizations and in helping them; in relations with the
leaders of these local organizations; in an underground form of carrying out
religious rites’. Nine days later (on July 23) there appears in the
investigatory case a document with the title ‘Testimony of the accused Joseph
Petrovykh’, where there are neither questions nor replies. The document is
presented as, supposedly, ‘the heartfelt confession’ by Metropolitan Joseph ‘of
counter-revolutionary activity’ and his leadership ‘of a counter-revolutionary
organization’.

“From the bureaucratic
style of the letter and its form, which was standard for such ‘confessions’,
this testimony must without doubt be assigned to the creativity of the
investigators themselves. The document contains not one new witness by
comparison with Metropolitan Joseph’s previous testimonies, and, consequently,
anybody could have composed such a paper. The servile self-slander makes it in
general impossible to recognize in it Metropolitan Joseph’s authorship. In other
words, we boldly assign the given document to the compartment ‘spuria’
(fabricated). The only question is: whose signature is under this falsified
document? Was it that of Metropolitan Joseph, forced out of him (by various
methods of ‘investigatory inquiry’)? Or is this signature just as fabricated as
the authorship of ‘the accused’s testimony’? A final resolution of this problem
will require, of course, a corresponding expertise, but even without expertise
the signature below this ‘testimony’ elicits doubts with regards to its
belonging to Metropolitan Joseph. The doubts intensify if were to remember that
Metropolitan Joseph refused to put his signature under the accusation presented
to him when he was brought in the capacity of accused.”

For, as M.S. Sakharov and
L.E. Sikorskaya comment: “We shall never know the whole truth about the last
days in the lives of many new martyrs from the documents of the punitive organs.
For, by contrast with the documents of the persecutions of the first ages of
Christianity (Roman judicial acts became the basis for the composition of the
martyrologies of the Church), the documents of the persecutions of the last
times were founded from the beginning, as was the whole system of power that
engendered them, on lies, and were thoroughly soaked in falsehood.”

There is some evidence
that in his last years Metropolitan Peter had appointed Metropolitan Joseph as
“Extraordinary Locum Tenens”, in accordance with a little-known decision
of the Council of 1918 and with the approval and support of Metropolitan Cyril.
If so, then Metropolitan Joseph became leader of the Russian Churchfor 42 days after the
death of Metropolitan Peter and until his own death. For, as KGB archives
confirm, Metropolitan Joseph was first sentenced on November 19, and then was
shot at midnighton November 20-21, together
with Metropolitan Cyril, Bishop Eugene (Kobranov) and about 150 other
Christians.

As Fr. Epiphanius Chernov
writes: "In Chimkent, Metropolitan Joseph met Metropolitan Cyril, lived together
with him under arrest and received with him a martyric death… This fact was
known in the CatacombChurchin Moscow. This detail
was told to the author of these lines in prison by a Moscowpriest. Every day, when
they let Metropolitan Cyril and Joseph out for a walk, they walked side by side,
pressed against each other. Now Metropolitan Joseph was tall, and by comparison
with him the stocky Metropolitan Cyril was short. As they walked in a circle,
they were always engaged in concentrated conversation. Evidently there, in the
open air, no one could overhear them. And these two figures, as if fitting into
each other, gave a touching demonstration of the 'two-in-one' nature of these
hierarchs. And this walk of the metropolitans was watched by some catacomb nuns
from a hill. This was not without danger. It was necessary to disguise it, so
that the authorities should not notice this secret signalling. And it came to
the point where the metropolitans gave them their blessing at the beginning and
at the end of their walk. I heard this detail from inhabitants of Chimkentboth in captivity and in
freedom. So there can be no doubt about this sojourn of Metropolitan Cyril with
Metropolitan Joseph in the autumn of 1937. Both 'Moscow' and 'Chimkent' witness
to it. Now there are no traces left of the little house in which the
hierarch-confessors were kept. They demolished it when they noticed that the
place enjoyed special veneration from the believers..."

Metropolitan Joseph was
shot on November 20, 1937
together with Metropolitan Cyril of Kazan and Bishop Eugene of Rostovin Lisij
ovrag near Chimkent, and was buried there.

* * *

FROM A LETTER
OF THE OPTINA ELDER

ST. ANATOLY THE
YOUNGER (+1927)

Seraphim Larin

Looking through my archives recently in search of a
particular article, I ran across this remarkable letter written by one of the
many highly venerated monks of the famous Optina monastery. In re-reading it
under the awareness that it was penned over 80 years ago – before the Moscow
Patriarchate came into being – I was completely enthralled by the contents of
his presage as they are so precise in definition and clear in discernment. It is
as though the thoughts expressed by him as to the future of the true Church and
Her faithful were written now – today, on the basis of what is transpiring
before our very eyes! Obviously, his extraordinary predictions through his pen
reflect a holy soul that has been touched by the Holy Spirit, and should serve
as a guide – as well as a warning – for our actions and attitudes toward Christ
and His True Church.

In order to achieve a maximum and true understanding of his
letter, one has to read it with a completely open conceptual mind and apply it
in the light of what has happened to ROCA (Metropolitan Vitaly), the actions of ROCA’s
betraying hierarchs and clergy, and the behaviour of the apostate Moscow
Patriarchate.

It would be particularly beneficial to those followers of
the MP who state that they are against this unity – “BUT”…..! In reality, these
individuals (that include clergy as well as laity) can only be mercifully
described as pitifully inadequate Christians, because they choose to ignore the
fact that their palpable and conscious execution of their sin is an act of
willful self-destruction… damnable and unintelligent. Yet they have assumed
newly acquired pretensions of rightness and infallibility, rejecting the thought
that they should reflect with profit on their betrayal and miscalculated unia.

They should be reminded by the Optina Starets’ directives
that any sin carries the heavy darkness of the grave, and that the betraying
ROCA clergy, swollen with perverse sanctity, will soon become a desperate
embarrassment to “pat” Kirill and will comply with any of his demands, because
the MP has large resources of compulsion in various forms and methods.

The more than obvious and infamous turncoat ROCA betrayers
like Protopopov, Lebedeff, Larin, Potapov, Makarov, 3 Chemodakovs, Morozov,
Carles and others, have become predictable monotones in cassocks, whose
dismissive, stereotyped intellectuality fails to measure up even to that of a
barstool philosopher. While they may have seemingly escaped the prison of their
betrayal into the basking limelight of the MP’s temporary grateful attitude,
they certainly took the architectural walls of their churches and their lies
with them.

Hopefully, in reading the frightening predictions which are
unfolding here and now, they may reflect with profit and realize that the
hierarchs – headed by Goondaev – are modern-day false prophets and corruptors of
Christ’s truth, impoverished of manhood and sickly in conscience that specialize
- with FSB (KGB) diligence – in shrouding Apostolic and Biblical truths with
seductive doubts and whispered heresies.

This letter of warning can be related directly to what is
transpiring today. Even a cursory, yet dispassionate examination of the Soviet
“church” and its KGB businessman “Mikhailov” – aka “pat” Goondaev will reveal
that he and his followers are corrupted with moral impotence and earthly
comforts. It is an accepted and provable fact that the MP is rich with
accumulated celebrations of betrayal and infidelity of Christ’s Teachings, while
“pat” Kirill is a devil’s disciple that is intellectually contemptible and
morally dishonouring, who has amassed riches beyond the realms of avarice. Since
coming to power, his warnings bordering on menace to all Russian Orthodox
Churches that have refused to join the MP, suggest calculated future violence
against them (which in fact is happening right now in Russia), and reveal his
true beliefs and spiritual barbarism. Yet ROCA (Laurus) has surrendered her
moral and spiritual authority over her faithful through lies, and is now trying
to exorcise Herself of Her kiss of Judas with further lies!

Notwithstanding the fact that anyone of the ROCA(MP) clergy
that may find sufficient spiritual strength to speak the truth about the MP will
be relegated to the tortured obscurity of a provincial dog-catcher, I sincerely
pray that this profound letter of Saint Anatoly will overcome their curiously
alarming inability to face indisputable facts, and detach them from the sea of
acquiescing smiles of the MP clergy that are so adept at presenting images that
are muddied with reality.

May Saint Anatoly’s prayers enlighten each and every reader
of his epistle with the truth!

Lowly and unworthy Seraphim.

“…From the heresies will spread everywhere and deceive many
people. The enemy of the human race will act with cunning in order to draw into
heresy, if possible, even the elect. He will not begin by crudely rejecting the
dogmas of the Holy Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus Christ and the virtue of
Theotokos, but he will begin imperceptibly to distort the teachings and statutes
of the Church and their very spirit, handed down to us by the Holy Fathers
through the Holy Spirit. Few will notice these wiles of the enemy, only those
more experienced in the spiritual life. Heretics will seize power over the
Church and will place their servants everywhere; the pious will be regarded with
contempt. The Lord said: “By their fruits ye shall know them”, and so, by their
fruits, as well as by the actions of the heretics, strive to distinguish them
from the true pastors. These are spiritual thieves, plundering the spiritual
flock, and they will enter the sheepfold (the Church), climbing up some other
way, as the Lord said that they will enter by an unlawful way, using force and
trampling upon the Divine statutes. The Lord labels them as robbers. Indeed,
their first task will be the persecution of the true pastors, their imprisonment
and exile, for without this it will be impossible for them to plunder the sheep.
Therefore my son, when you see the violation of patristic tradition and the
Divine order in the church, the order established by God, know that the heretics
have already appeared, although for the time being they may conceal their
impiety, or they will distort the Divine Faith imperceptibly, in order to
succeed better in seducing and enticing the inexperienced into the net. This
persecution will be directed against not only pastors but against all servants
of God, for all those ruled by heresy will not endure piety. Recognise these
wolves in sheep’s clothing by their proud dispositions and love of power. They
will be slanderers, traitors, everywhere sowing enmity and malice; therefore the
Lord said that by their fruits you will know them. True servants of God are
humble, love their neighbour and are obedient to the Church. Monastics will be
greatly oppressed by the heretics and monastic life will be scorned. Monasteries
will become scarce, the number of monastics will decline, and those who remain
will endure violence. However, these haters of monastic life, having only the
appearance of piety, will strive to attract the monks to their side, promising
them protection and worldly goods, and threatening those who oppose them with
expulsion. These threats will cause great despair among the fainthearted, but
you my son, rejoice that you have lived until that time, for then the faithful
who have not shown any other virtues, will receive crowns merely for standing
firm in the Faith, according to the word of the Lord (Matt. 10:32). Fear the
Lord my son. Fear to lose the crown prepared for you, fear to be cast by Christ
into the outer darkness and eternal torment. Stand bravely in the Faith, and if
necessary, endure persecution and other sorrows, for the Lord will be with you…
and the holy martyrs and confessors, they will look upon you and your struggle
with joy. But woe to the monks in those days who will be bound with possessions
and riches, who because of love of peace will be ready to submit to the
heretics. They will lull to sleep their conscience, saying: “We are preserving
and saving monastery and the Lord will forgive us”. The unfortunate and blind
ones do not at all consider that through heresy the demons will enter the
monastery and then it will no longer be a holy monastery, but merely walls from
which grace will depart. However, God is mightier than the enemy, and He will
never leave His servants. True Christians will remain until the end of this age,
only they will choose to live in secluded, deserted places. Do not fear sorrows,
rather fear pernicious heresy, for it strips us of grace and separates us from
Christ. This is why the Lord commanded us to consider the heretic as a pagan and
a publican. And so my son, strengthen yourself in the grace of Jesus Christ.
Hasten to confess the Faith, to endure suffering as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ ( Tim. 2:1-3), Who has said: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give
thee a crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

To Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honour,
glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

* * *

TWO YEARS
DOWN THE TRACK…

Protodeacon Herman Ivanov-Trinadtsati

Translated by Seraphim Larin

Recollections of mordant arguments, upheavals,
tumults that preceded the lethal and shameful signing of the unia with the MP,
are still alive among many people… the voluntary self-liquidation of the Russian
Orthodox Church Abroad! With the passing of 2 years, passions have cooled as
though everything has become the norm.

In general, those who have fought against the
surrender of the White stance, against the profanity levelled at the inheritance
left by our Forefathers – have remained firm in their convictions and didn’t
join with the Sergianists. Unfortunately, they were also unable to unite as a
single front with all the other MP antagonists, apparently regarding this as not
being essential. Unfortunately, what can you call this other than spiritual
blindness?...

Those who lagged behind their weak-willed and
conniving pastors, believing – or at least pretending to believe – the
calculatingly false pledges of unfit hierarchs, were initially calmed by them in
stressing that there was no talk of unification, that these were all rumours
spread by ill-intentioned people. This followed by assurances that their efforts
will not go further than restoring good relations for the purpose of normalizing
mutually-pastoral practices in traditionally non-Orthodox countries, while each
time fabricating something new to tranquilise the consciences and perpetuate the
trust of the people. In reality, it now seems so easy for everyone to have seen
that the hierarchs knew exactly where they were heading, and who eventually
plunged straight into the soviet-patriarchate cauldron. Now they are thrashing
around, not knowing how to climb out of the situation – even if they wanted to.

Soon after the deaths of Alexis 11 and
met.Laurus, “bulldozer” Goondaev didn’t stand on ceremony to establish order –
his own order. First order of the day was to unceremoniously deal with his “arch
rival”, who had the impertinence to declare his candidacy for “patriarchy”.
Although he was anointed with the same myrrh, wretched Clement was regarded as a
more traditional, more Orthodox candidate. From the lofty and responsible
position of Head of the MP activities, he was very quickly blown away like a
leaf with the first gust of wind. Being a permanent member of the Synod, he was
banished so that he wouldn‘t presume too much in future, and generally speaking,
so that everybody should know their place. Following on and without pausing, the
newly baked “patriarch” began to decompound his beloved Department of Foreign
Relations, realizing full well that this power grabbing war machine – and indeed
a “state within a state” – can be used against him. Having dismembered the DFR
and appointed prosaic individuals to head it, Goondaev continues to be involved
- with an iron hand in external relationships - especially with the Vatican. And
this is far from being the last of the “cadre reforms” by this Church
businessman.

As far as the Overseas acquisition is
concerned, the courting days when there was always a red carpet before her, when
the “patriarch himself” was involved, and when her hierarchs were continually
admitted into presidential offices are over. Matters pertaining to the overseas
part of the MP have now been consigned to the synodal prefecture, while her head
(met.Hilarion)– contrary to his expectations of becoming a permanent member of
the Moscow Synod – has been left out, languishing somewhere at the tail of the
fabled inventory of more than 30 patriarchal “metropolitans”! If traditionally -
that is, in a genuine and canonical Russian Church – there were, as a rule, 3
Metropolitans i.e. Moscow, St.Petersburg and Kiev, the current number suggests
that the white klobuks (headwear worn only by Metropolitans) are being handed
out as freely as antifascist badges were doled out in the past.

Among the “cadre reforms”, there remains a
necessity to resolve the question of existing “twin” churches. Of all the
canonical indecencies perpetrated by the MP, the most glaring that captures the
eye is shrouded in Germany, where two archbishops carrying the same title and
being both subordinate to the Moscow “patriarch”, occupy one and the same
cathedra!! In recollecting that one of the cardinal arguments by Bishop Mark,
stating that unification with the MP would allow ROCOR to rid herself of her
uncanonical state, has now placed him in an unenviable canonical predicament.
The same can be said about the situations that exist in the far-flung regions of
the world, where there are existing dual church structures, which are
subordinate to the MP. It’s difficult to predict the outcome of Kirill
Goondaev’s resolution. However, it’s highly unlikely that he will sacrifice his
true subjects in order to please the overseas members, from whom he doesn’t
expect anything more than what he has secured already. The simplest thing to do
- given the fact that both are de facto in the one territory and one and the
other appear as nothing more than overseas parts of the MP - is to blend both
structures into one.

Of course, to us, such a determination sounds
outrageous and blasphemous, because our understanding of the word OVERSEAS
carries a special significance, full of definitive meaning - the incarnation of
the White Spirit and everything associated with it. However, to those that have
renounced this conception by fraternizing with the unrepentant Bolshevik
successors, this conveys a purely territorial meaning, which is nothing but a
designation of an area in relation to which the merging of two structures
becomes a natural conclusion that doesn’t present any special difficulties.

But the other question is – WHO will be
appointed heads of such amalgamated structures?...

Two years have elapsed and the honeymoon is
over. Some of the overseas-betrayers are possibly sobering up – but is it too
late? The last sitting of the Synod of hierarchs adopted a very risky
resolution, allowing the main Overseas halidom – the miracle-working Kursk-Root
icon of the Mother of God – to travel with a delegation to the Russian
Federation. The post-soviet Russia regards herself as the rightful heir to the
Russian Empire (even to the personal effects of the Tsar!), as can be seen
through her continuous efforts to seize Russian churches overseas. Consequently,
it’s not difficult to imagine that what to us is a Hodigitria of Overseas
Russia, to them it’s nothing but a stolen icon by the “white bandits”, which has
to be returned to its legal heir!

The fears among some of the Synod members are
becoming apparent through the reading of an excerpt of their issued – in many
ways strange – protocol: “Remembering the deathbed directives of the ever
memorable, his eminence Metropolitan Laurus (3/16 March 2009), the Synod of
Hierarchs have approached G.C.Poltavchenko with a request to guarantee that all
measures will be taken to safeguard the Kursk-Root icon of the Mother of God,
and Her successful return to the USA”.

Let us commence with the incorrect date, as
Met.Laurus died exactly one year earlier i.e. 16th March 2008. If this is a
typographical error, then did he die immediately after giving certain
instructions regarding the icon? Or is it just the editor’s illiteracy? In any
case, many people would like to know the full contents of the “deathbed
directives”. Concerning the approach to Poltavchenko “with a request to
guarantee that all measures will be taken to safeguard….. and successful
return..”, all sounds rather naïve and was ostensibly written to protect
themselves from the potential distressing ramifications from this negligent
decision. Have these Synodal personages already forgotten that the bald-headed
“uncle” Lenin declared: “Promises are binding only on the recipients”. And the
naiveté` and hypocrisy is also evident in that everybody is fully aware that
should the Icon be stolen, no amount of Poltavchenko will be of any help: the
decision will be taken on a significantly higher level. It would then be totally
useless to appeal to the Courts as they are under the directions of Putin and
Goondaev – a fact clearly demonstrated in the case of bishop Diomedes and the
recent shameless seizure of 10 churches in the Suzdal region.

Sadly, the hierarchs and the main creators of
the unia with the MP, continue at every opportunity to hypocritically applaud
and thank God for this achievement and the supposedly God-pleasing merger.
However, what does the laity and majority of the clergy think? Could it be that
that everybody is willing to sign off under the trite and ecstatic words of
their leadership? We can only judge by the reports reaching us from the
territory of the Western European Diocese. In Medon, a city close to Paris,
there is a growing feeling of dissatisfaction with some parishioners abandoning
their parish, forcing the Synod to hurriedly issue appeasing flower-decorated
greetings on the occasion of the parish’s 80th anniversary. But the most
critical situation appears to be in Geneva where this has been brought about,
not because of the unification with the MP, but because of the persona that
serves there as its bishop – the not unknown “bishop” Michael Donskov. For the
majority of the parishioners, it represents a real nightmare, which no one seems
to be able to cope with. More and more parishioners are finding his uncouthness
unacceptable. Before attending a church service, it has now become a practice
among the parishioners to find out as to who will be officiating before making
their decision. Two protodeacons have been hospitalized with depression.
Altar-boys, long standing Genevans, who served for many years in the altar
with the Memorable Archbishop Anthony, have been ejected from the altar. The
Diakov family that have over three generations, created glory for the Geneva
cathedral through their church choral endeavours, do not attend it anymore.

The loyal speechwriter that had formerly
served Bishop Ambrose, has been suspended from his duties, which might explain
why there was no Easter pastoral message. Many are complaining of the depleted
coffers due to the bishop’s continuous travels around the world. It should be
remembered that this is the person who attempted physically to dispatch the
elderly Metropolitan Vitaly to a psychiatric hospital. During this failed
hoodlum abduction during a church service, he displayed blatant insolence in
bringing into the altar an armed female police officer. Because of the above
actions, this bishop was anathematised three times, suggesting that with him
everything - even the most extraordinary - is possible!

We have also learned about the following
occurrence from reliable people that can be believed: On Passion Thursday,
during the reading of the 12 Gospels, a ringing noise sounded throughout the
church. Standing on the cathedra, the “bishop” reached into his pocket, took out
a mobile phone and entered the altar. Emerging a short time later, he continued
to read the Passion of Christ… While we were not present to witness this
unimaginable scene, it is the cathedral’s parishioners themselves that are
talking about it.

However, as mentioned earlier, everything
becomes possible and there doesn’t seem to be anyone, or anything that could
curb these indecencies and blasphemies, whereas to the patriarchate and the new
leadership, these may not seem so unusual as to warrant censure.

Naturally, while we are very sad for the
innocent people that have fallen into the trap, set by unworthy pastors and
hierarchs, it is difficult to understand them when they declare: “We didn’t know
it would be like this. We weren’t warned!!...” Well, what’s the point – let us
stretch out our helping hand and state that there is no situation that one can’t
get out of, although it would have been simpler if it was avoided in the first
place. However, this requires a definite determination and willpower.

While not privy to situations in other
countries, France has established statutes, which decree that a given number of
registered church members have the legal right to call an extraordinary parish
meeting and hold a ballot to determine the future of their parish. For example,
this is what was done in Cannes and Lyon in 2002.

How can one argue against the wise words of
the Ever-Memorable Archbishop Nathanael: “It is much harder to break away from
the control of demonic powers than not to submit to them (in the first place)”.

In these apocalyptic times where truth has
become an abstract term and a source of entertaining debate that is determined
by the side with the most potent resource of compulsion, the true Faith as
contained in the Bible – more than ever - is under dire threat by the idolater
and pseudo-Christian organizations. Among the most insidious of these teachings
are those that are Eastern in origin, and satanic in content. This article
attempts to explain in detail, the fallacious yet dangerous pronouncements of
the main Eastern faiths that are slowly proliferating among the true Christian
communities, and gaining misguided attention and ill-advised respect. Hopefully,
the contents and decisive evaluations of these false and demonic teachings will
earn the rejection and condemnation by those, contemplating to join the ranks of
their followers.

Lowly and unworthy

Seraphim Larin

* * *

INTRODUCTION

Unlike animals, human beings cannot find
complete contentment in earthly blessings alone. Sooner or later their lives cry
out for something spiritual, prompting a series of initiatory questions.... why
are they alive?.... what is the purpose of their existence?... is there
something beyond the physical world?... etc.

Christianity not only answers these and other
questions but assists to break through the constraints of everyday responsibilities, to
realise the true meaning of life and develop the righteous attributes of the soul.

Unfortunately, beginning at the turn of the
century and with an ever-increasing ferocity, the Western world has been inundated with a
plethora of Indo-occult or “Eastern” teachings, promoting methods of
spiritualising one’s life.

Adapting themselves to the Western mentality
and culture, these teachings freely use many Christian terminologies and
pronouncements, creating an impression that they do not contradict but rather complete the
“inadequate” Christian teachings. Unfortunately, few people are qualified to
interpret the deceiving aspects of these promotions, particularly as they are
interwoven into the Christian Word.

Consequently, these false instructions place
people on the wrong spiritual path because in reality they are in direct conflict with
the Christian edicts.

In the light of Christianity, we shall examine
the main attitudes that exist in these Indo-occult or “Eastern” religions and
explain why they are false and what is wrong with them. We shall also show why
their promotions of psycho technical processes, aimed at “expanding awareness”
and “opening of internal spheres” are harmful to the psyche and damaging to the
soul.

The second part of this treatise will deal
with historical datum and distinctive characteristics of the major and popular
Eastern cults.

THE THREE TENETS

All Indo-occult teachings can be conditionally
separated into three main arenas:

(1)
Pseudo-scientific / philosophical and occult.

(2) Psycho
physiological practices.

(3)
Development of intuition and spontaneity.

(1) The main protagonists in this area, based
on pseudo-science and intellectualism are Blavatsky (gnosticism & theosophy),
Steiner (anthroposophy), Rarich (agni-yoga) and some others.

The outstanding characteristics of these
convictions are reflected in the pseudo-scientific theories on: the
organisational structure of the invisible world; the hierarchy of its spirits;
the influence of the cosmos on the future of people, nations and continents; the
evolution of Earth; the “arrangement” of a human being’s essential qualities;
the life hereafter.. etc.

All these muddled, confused and foggy
dissertations are splashed across glossy pages, bound into many, many tomes that
would require a lifetime to study, and are aimed at those inclined to
contemplate and meditate, and though these individuals may have practical
evaluative abilities, they keep them suppressed so as not to interrupt their
meditations.

Strong emphasis is made toward the study of
occult literature so that a person will develop an “intuition” about the
supernatural, allowing the growth of an “awareness” of the mystical side of
existence and the shrouded “understanding” of life.

Unfortunately, such studies usually produce
damaging psychological side-effects including a tendency to become emotionally
cold; cynical; contemptuous; spiritually void; - a feeling of bewilderment that
evolves into despondency.

(2) In this psycho physiological movement, the
emphasis is placed on reconstituting one’s organism without regard to its dire
consequences. The participant becomes a vulnerable object to the influence of
evil spirits, resulting in the alteration of its biological process to such an
extent that even a qualified physician is unable to explain the reason for the
changed behaviour.

The main influences in this area are all forms
of yoga (mantra, rahja & hatha), including the hari krishnas, the
“transcendental meditation”, Tibetan Buddhism, the methods of “White Brotherhood
of the World”, the C.Grofe “therapy” with narcotics, the P.Ivanov method and
others.

While the list is not exhaustive, it embraces
the main traditional Eastern pronouncements, as well as their “scientifically
re-established modifications”. This is further supported by psychotherapy and
“homegrown” methods such as P.Ivanov’s. If the original theories seem
primitive, the modern approaches have been refined with “scientific” research,
involving the world of phenomenon and illusion, unfolded through the use of
narcotics or regimented breathing exercises.

The main argument these movements of psycho
physiological mystique is that it “works”, i.e. its practice gives palpable
results. People attracted toward action rather than reflection are usually drawn
to it. The usual methods used in providing a “breakthrough” into the
invisible world are: movement of the body, fixed postures, regulated
breathing, control of blood-flow and localisation of the energetical processes
of the organism, repeated chanting of the mantra, visualisation (this method
develops one’s imagination by forcing it to create images in the dark or with
eyes shut, so that with time that person will be able to see any imaginable
thing with open eyes!), method of “sensory deprivation” (separation of one’s
self from all external irritations facilitating the “opening of feelings” into
the invisible world) and the use of narcotics.

(3) The third tenet advocates intuitive
mysticism and can be found in Zen-Buddhism, Jhana-Yoga, Krishna-mutra, writings
of Rajneshi & Kastenedi and others.

As a rule, this movement promulgates: the
rejection of the rational-logical approach to things; approval of all
paradoxical and contradictory situations that surround us; necessity to develop
the ability to react other than by reason alone; spontaneity; intuition;
releasing all your desires and subconscious reactions. The motto of this
teaching is “total internal emancipation”. Consequently, religious Daosism
permits unbridled orgies, while the followers of Zen-Buddhism are permitted to
do anything that their hearts desire.

While these Indo-occult teachings have been
headed into three groupings, further examinations will show that their
respective intellect, practices and intuitions correspond with one another. The
ebb and flow of their proclamations overlap and criss-cross one another, giving
them much in common. What really brings them together is their particular
understanding of God as an “impersonal world principle” and their universal
utilisation of the methods of Meditation and Yoga.

INDO - OCCULT TEACHINGS IN THE LIGHT OF
CHRISTIANITY

In broad characteristics, all religions and
religious-philosophical studies can be grouped into two identities. The first
belongs to the teachings that recognise God as an Individual that is a perfect,
transcendental Being, Creator of all things visible and invisible. The other
pertains to the impersonal beginning. One names it as Absolute while the other
as “eternal world principle”, “a cosmic power” or some such thing.

Christian and Muslim faiths as well as Judaism
belong to the first category as all share the fundamental belief of God-Person
and are focused on Him. In direct contrast, the second group of Indo-occult
adherents has their faith pivoted on the human being.

An uninformed reader without any theological
exposure may well think that the question of God being personal or not is purely
a philosophically abstract one, considering that God’s nature is
incomprehensible. The main thing is to be kind and honest - traits that are
taught by all religions, irrespective of their fundamentals. However, as we
will see, the question of personality of, and self-conscious belief in God is
far from abstract, and in fact determines the ideals and constitutive doctrines
of any given religion or teaching.

All religions and philosophies try to answer
the fundamental question as to why we exist. The difference to be found in the
many answers emanate from the teachings as to whether God is personal or
impersonal, i.e. does He possess reason, will, self consciousness , or is He
some sort of power or energy? These two fundamental understandings not only
highlight the deep chasm that separates the two teachings but will show their
diametrically-opposed conclusions on moral issues.

If Judaism was to remove the many layers of
flawed teachings of Talmud, and Islam its false pronouncements by Mohammed,
then they would both come closer to Christianity. On the other hand, no amount
of “pruning” or editing of the Indo-occult creed could achieve the same result
because their quintessential beliefs are totally different.

By substituting the personal of God with a
diffusive understanding of an all-encompassing energy, they place the individual
in the centre of their belief and concentrate to teach it the use of this energy
for self-development and prosperity.

As they allow their adherents full freedom to
seek out the truth about the mystery of being, they criticise the Christian
faith for having a system of dogmas and regimenting free thought.

“There is only one truth - it is people that
understand it differently” is one of their famous proclamations. However, as we
will see, all Eastern religions lean on one dogmatic cornerstone - belief in the impersonal
beginning, which is the Alpha and Omega of everything.

Actually, if there is no God as a Being, then
there is no Reason and all-directing Will, no absolute Authority, no righteous
Judge - everything moves and functions “by itself” under the influence of some
blind cosmic powers.

All religious “truths” and moral principles in
which a person believes are determined by his knowledge, ability and
intellectual sagacity and are therefore conditional and subject to
re-examination. Because of these factors, the Eastern doctrines are outstanding
in being contradictory and amorphous.

Now we can commence to examine the most
important aspects of the Indo-occult teachings, beginning with the most
fundamental question.

GOD and EARTH

Every science, including the most strictly
logical and consequential one e.g. mathematics, is obliged to depend on a series
of “self-evident truths” (axioms), which in principle cannot be proven and have
to be taken ON FAITH. If axioms could be proven, they would have to be renamed
theorems. Accordingly, it is unremarkable that the lesser obvious branches of
knowledge such as religion and philosophy, depend on their own axioms and
dogmas, which remain improvable and are subject to faith. The most fundamental
axiom pertaining to all religious-philosophical teachings is the idea of God.
While God-reaching religions depend on their faith in God as a Being, the
Eastern cults build their conclusions on an impersonal global principle.

Christianity believes in one God-Being,
Almighty, and Creator of all things visible and invisible. The Christian
understanding of God is that He is ethereal and a totally perfect Being that is
endlessly wise and almighty. God does not live within the constraints of time
or space. Everything that exists on Earth is the result of His will & not an
emanation from Him, but created from nothing.

At the beginning, there was nothing - no
angels, no spirits, no cosmos, not even elementary fragments that make it up,
nor any energy or force, no time or space. Only God existed - as eternal,
life-giving and unapproachable Light. In creating Earth, God implanted into it
certain laws governing its development according to His direction.

The nature of Earth differs completely to the
nature of God, who is the purest and omnipresent Spirit. God can pass through
anything without touching or mixing with it. As Earth was created from nothing,
so can it return to nothing. Its fate relies totally on the will of God Who
dwells in unapproachable light - not in time or space - is found everywhere
and controls everything.

Having created Earth and the human race with
specific aims, God cares about us like a father would for His children. All
Indo-occult teachings emerge from the idea of an impersonal God.

If to a Christian, God is Who, to the Eastern
beliefs, God is What; “God” and “Earth” flow into one meaning: “God is
everything, and everything is God.” This contemplation of the world is called
Pantheism from the Greek “pan” - meaning “all” and “theos” - meaning “God.” One
doctrine speaks of Brahma or Absolutism, another of the common principle found
in the basis of our existence, another about the all enveloping energy, mystical
force of “soul of the world”, yet another of Primary Reality etc... However, in
all this variety of names (inseparable from Earth) lies the impersonal and
seemingly incomprehensible side of the Universe, which with Earth, evolves
according to the laws of Genesis. It is interesting to note that while these
teachings reject God as a Person, they are forced to endow some of their matter
with divine properties e.g: eternity, eternal dimension, reasoning powers (in
the expediency laws of nature) and justice (in the laws of Karma).

A characteristic of these propositions appears
in the conception of a cyclical cosmos in which Earth periodically passes
through various phases of regeneration, development, depletion and devastation.
Appearing in a temporary form (as a model) of absolute, the cosmos passes
through cycles of being and not being in which worlds arise from the depths of
the absolute and then disappear in this chasm. That’s why the beginning is
equated to the end and time is turned back. In this way, “Absolute” Eastern
teachings do not regard God as an all-encompassing Architect and Lawgiver (as He
is in Christianity), but as matter that is subject to the laws of evolution and
is therefore, dependent upon them.

Another distinguishing trait in their thesis
is the emphasis on illusory aspects of the world (maya). As, in the main,
everything flows from the initial energy, it is visional and unreal. Everything
that we see around us is an illusion and consequently, all our conceptions are
conditional and erroneous.

The Hypothesis of an impersonal God is central
to the Eastern cults because it allows them to reject: awareness of one’s
immortality; God’s Revelations; Christ as the Saviour of mankind; God’s
Judgment and eternal life; relative understanding of truth and solecism; good
and evil; virtue and vice and others. Instead, they bow before destiny as the
determinant of one’s future, believe in Karma and resettlement of spirits.

Albeit their beliefs may seem “spiritual” and
have some similarities with the Christian faith, these cults are at worst
atheistic and at best, a “spiritualised” form of materialism.

TRUTH -- ABSOLUTE or RELATIVE
UNDERSTANDING ?

In their own understanding of “truth”, the
Eastern or pantheist teachings are very consequential: if there is no God-Being
that cares for His people, there cannot be one Source of Revelations. People,
attempting to understand the reason for their existence, are not only
constrained by their own intellect but as to how they accept the given answers.
Naturally, as a consequence, their conclusions are incomplete, invariably
diverse and subject to examination. As their illustration, they imagine that 4
blind men are requested to feel an elephant and state what they think it is.
The first touched the leg and declared that it was a pole, the second felt its
tail and thought it was a snake, the third came into contact with the
elephant’s belly and concluded it was a large barrel, while the last person
stroked its ears and was of the opinion that it was a basket. Who was
correct? Obviously, they were all right... and, all wrong!

Similarly, the occult beliefs conclude, all
religions in their own way are true. Religion of mankind is made up of
different levels of understanding of the same truth. In this design, Christ,
Buddha, Confucius, Zoroastra, Mohammed, Krishna and other “avatars” are accepted
as teachers, preaching the same principles, only in different words. That is
why Eastern faiths regard there is no heresy or errors in understanding the
truth - only different levels of understanding of Realities.

Basing themselves on the relativity of
religious teachings, these occults encourage the comparative study of religions
in order to broaden one’s intellectual horizons. Those that claim
exclusiveness to the true faith, e.g. Christians, are branded as fanatics. The
idea that, in principle truth is unattainable, lies in the writings of
Zen-Buddhism. While Earth is deceptive and illusory, truth shall remain
unrealizable. To teach anyone something is regarded as impossible, just as it
is impossible to learn anything from anyone. To achieve anything, one must in
the first instance, expunge all prejudices and opinions preached by various
religions. Reality does not have any objective substance, only subjective
acceptance exists. “Truth” must be obtained instantly, intuitively when the
seeker and that which is sought flow into one.

Books can be beneficial to a beginner so long
as they encourage meditation. In rejecting reason and logic, Zen-Buddhism
believes in the infallibility of the human intuition and calls for its
development through increased practice of meditation in the Yoga sense. In
meditating, one should weaken oneself totally and expunge the mind of all
external impressions. Everything a person may learn will come from within
unexpectedly. The main thing is to feel that one is organically part of the
“Whole”. Having achieved this, that person will be immersed in total bliss and
understanding that he or she is - “god”. Zen-Buddhism calls this spontaneous
enlightenment as the achievement of truth.

The Christian understanding of the
absoluteness and immutability of truth is based on the conception of God as a
Person. In creating the human being, He endowed him with god-like powers of
reasoning, capable of communicating with Him and discerning the truth. God is
like the sun, with the human eye being reason, capable of accepting His light,
though not its full intensity. Yet even through this limited enlightenment, a
person is granted the ability to comprehend the nature of spiritual and material
elements.

The original man, in his sin-free state, could
communicate and even converse with God freely (Genesis chp. 2-3). Having
sinned, Man fell away from God. His powers of reasoning dimmed, resulting in
the appearance of a multitude of false religions. Despite man’s transgression,
God did not turn away from him. Like a loving Father, He did not cease to care
for the salvation of the human race and sent them many of His prophets-teachers.

Eventually, the total truth was brought into
the world by Christ, the only Son or God. He fulfilled the prophesies which
were present in the Old Testament and gave a more complete understanding of God
and many other spiritual topics. He clearly explained what is right and what is
wrong, how to live and what to aim for in order to gain eternal life. He did
not attempt to satiate the human thirst for knowledge, nor open the answers to
complex questions as to our existence. Instead, He concentrated His teachings
that are important to us - how to acquire the Kingdom of Heaven. The teachings
of Christ are contained in its undiluted purity in the New Testament, recorded
by the four Evangelists and propagated throughout the world by His Apostles. It
remains as the true unadulterated Revelations of God. Under the guidance of our
Church, our immediate task in our earthly existence is to perceive God-revealing
truths as contained in the Holy Scriptures and structure our earthly outlook and
Christian life according to its directions. Notwithstanding the fact that not
every individual is capable of understanding its total depth of God’s truth,
every person is competent enough to believe in that which it confirms.

Devoid of a singular Source of Revelations -
GOD, the Indo-occult teachings often rely on the revelations of occult spirits -
“white brothers” or on the “authoritative” pronouncements of other Gurus. For
example, E.Blavatsky (founder of the theosophical society) asserted that she was
in a constant state of telepathic communication with Tibetan mahatmas; receives
instructions; poses them questions and hears their answers. She regarded her
life and theosophical teachings as the fulfillment of the will of mysterious
teachers that dwelled in the shrouded cliffs of Tibet.

Ergo, Christianity differentiates quite
clearly between God-given truth and human opinion and believes there is only one
Truth, and not the many misguided enunciations promoted by the Eastern cults.
Everything that runs contrary to the Truth is a product of fantasy.

MAN -- HIS NATURE and HIS DESTINY

In Christian understanding, Man is the
creation of God and bears the seal of His image. He differs from the angels -
being spirit only, and animals - being only physical, because of his duality,
i.e. he is composed of an intelligent soul and a perishable body.

Although the nature of a soul and its
“appearance” to the world remains one of God’s mysteries, Christianity teaches
quite clearly that the soul of the newborn is not a spirit that dwelled
elsewhere, but a new creation that came into being in the mother’s womb, at the
time of conception. Just as a baby will inherit many of the parent’s physical
traits, so will it receive some of their spiritual qualities - both positive
and negative ones. Notwithstanding the similarities with its parents that the
infant may display, it remains a completely new “I”, a unique and separate being
that can never be duplicated; a self-sufficient personality with its own
conscience and free will.

The soul of an infant does not enter the body
as one enters a room. It fulfills God’s plan by uniting itself with the body in
a most intimate and mysterious way for all eternity. Death, which materialised
because of sin, is an abnormal and an unnatural reality. Although after death,
the body loses its purpose and reverts back into the elements from which it was
created, its bond with the soul is maintained. Having left the body, the soul
retains the individuality of that person, - its spiritual experiences,
accumulated knowledge and spiritual state that had developed during its
lifetime. After physical death, its individuality, its unique “I”, continues to
comprehend, think, remember, feel and want. At the same time, the soul feels
its separation from the body is unnatural even though the feeling is temporary.
Its original purpose was not to be an angel or a ghost but a specific part of a
human’s constitution, the spiritual side of its nature. That is why people
cannot reconcile themselves with death - it is an unnatural event.

The purpose for Jesus Christ’s appearance in
this world was to rectify the anomaly of death and re-establish the duality in
the human being. This reinstatement will be realised on Final Judgment Day
when the soul of every deceased person will return to its restored and
spiritually renewed body, to commence eternal life. It is equally important to
remember that on the final Day of Resurrection, each soul will return to its own
body, to commence eternal life and not to some other new flesh.

This will be the restoration of the human
being to its original dual nature, just as God had created. Indo-occult sects
have a completely different understanding of Man’s nature. For them, the soul
is a coagulation, “materialisation” of a faceless energy that fills the world:
it is like a drop of condensed water or a wave of sound, frozen on a known
firmament. The human body is a substantive covering of a coagulum of energy,
somewhat like its clothes. Therefore, death is regarded as a normal process
when the soul, a temporarily condensed form of energy, dissolves and returns to
the sea of energy that fills the cosmos. And just like the molecules of steam
can consolidate into a drop of water, or a sound wave synchronise with a
specific tune, so can the “pieces” of global energy descend to form a soul and
settle into a new body. This process is known as “reincarnation” or
“transmigration”. While the various different Eastern cults contain some
differences in the terminology and explanations of this process, its essence is
common to all. They all agree that after death, the individual’s personality
and consciousness are spent.

THE PROBLEMS OF PERSONALITY

By the word “personality” or “I” it is
necessary to understand the non-material core of the consciousness and psychic
processes of intelligent beings. Every person’s consciousness is subject to a
continuous flow of thoughts, feelings, emotions, impressions and wants.
However, the “I” is not a passive channel for this current but rather an active
manager that freely controls its own spiritual activity. Notwithstanding the
many varying responses or the inconstant circumstances that a person experiences
during his tenure on Earth, he will regard himself as the same personality,
master of his own decisions and actions. A person’s personality concentrates
within itself to incorporate all its congenital and acquired individual
qualities, which include memory, knowledge, abilities, creative talent,
intuition, sensitivity, experience, religious feelings, moral level, willpower,
character, temperament, interests, ambitions etc... All this forms the whole
and unique “I”, distinguishing it from the outside world and other “I’s” of
other people.

While all religions that acknowledge God as a
Personality accept the human personality as eternal, those teachings that do not
believe in a personal God, reject the concept of individuality.

Christianity teaches that it is not the
physical elements that go to make up the human body that is important, but its
personality, its “I”. It is this “I” that is the most precious and stable
part. While the cells of an organism age, die and are replaced by new cells,
the personality accumulates and retains all its knowledge and experiences. An
infant is born like a clean and blank sheet of paper. Over the ensuing years,
all its impressions - specific traces of everything it feels, thinks and does -
are left in the conscious and the subconscious. Accumulated living
experiences, educate the character and form the personality of every
individual. Through concentrated endeavours, the individual may become educated
or remain illiterate, may ennoble or lower itself spiritually.

So long as “I” carries within itself the seal
of its Creator, Who is eternal, the personality appears as the most stable
“substance” in Nature - more stable than any molecule or atom. Indeed, with
proper equipment, any physical element may be changed into another by
“reorganising” its sub-atomic particles (electrons, protons and neutrons) from
which it is made. Difficult as it may be, theoretically, it is possible to turn
lead into gold. The personality of an individual cannot be changed: it is
possible to kill a person physically, but quite impossible to destroy its
knowledge, its living experiences nor its eternal soul.

Every individual is given the opportunity to
develop its own “I” in any way it wants. However, once it is acquired
internally, neither the individual nor anybody else can annul it. In infancy,
all babies look alike. It is quite possible that when Moses and Jack the
Ripper were born, there was very little difference between them. Nevertheless,
with the passing of time, one became a prophet of world-wide importance, revered
by most of the human race, while the other, an infamous monster. Each was free
to choose his own path. Consequently, after their deaths, everything that each
acquired internally, remains forever, either as a priceless spiritual wealth or
a repugnant, moral encumbrance. After death, each one will be able to bring to
account as to what he has earned. This inflexible firmness of one’s inner self
would be an enormous tragedy if it wasn’t for God’s benevolence in granting
every human being an opportunity to regenerate. This very important theme will
be discussed more fully at a later stage.

Eastern pronouncements reject self
consciousness in the Absolute, contending that this element is insubstantial and
ephemeral. Personality is a brief phenomenon - nothing but foam washed onto
the sandy shore and then swept back into the ocean without a trace. The
modern-day statements from these cults refer vaguely to the Absolute as
“extra-sensory”, without any explanation of this word. Possibly this may be a
play on words and that the “extra-sensory” power of the Absolute, as with
transcendental meditation, is without consciousness.

SIN AND KARMA

Christianity understands sin as a moral
violation of God’s law. Sinning can occur not only through action but through
thought, feeling, word or intent - anything that distances a human away from
God. Intentional alienation from Jesus Christ and an unwillingness to believe
in Him, the God-sent Saviour of the world, is the ultimate sin (John 16:9). In
accordance with Apostle Jacob’s teachings, not doing a good act when an
opportunity arises is also a sin. A sinful act or directing one’s mind towards
a sinful deed leaves a definite black mark on a human conscience. Repetition of
these sinful activities makes the individual morally ill and drags the soul
into an evil abyss. While every person’s mission is to fight its wicked
tendencies, sometimes sin is stronger than one’s spiritual strength,
necessitating Divine help. The infection released from the Original Sin into
the human race is so potent that every human being requires regenerating
powers that can only be obtained from the Almighty’s benevolence.

At the same time, God had implanted seeds of
goodness into every soul, creating the desire for it to perform good deeds.
When the individual commits an evil act, it is plagued with a heavy and
unpleasant feeling. This is because God had equipped us with a very sensitive
and true device called conscience. Consequently, it is not surprising that even
heathens, Muslims and people of various religious persuasions have a common
designation for good and evil, for sin and a benevolent act. This does not even
exclude the followers of the Eastern cults. While theoretically they don’t
distinguish between good and evil, regarding them as “different sides of one and
the same medal”, in practice they do have something closely akin to sin - Karma.

Karma - meaning “act” in Hindu - is the
accumulated total of one’s actions, both bad and good, which attach themselves
to the soul as it transmigrates (reincarnates). All future occurrences
experienced by the new bodies are determined with surgical accuracy by the
previous karma.

As the Hindu teachings are devoid of God, His
forgiving benevolence and cleansing of the human soul, karma takes on a purely
formal and mechanical character. Under karma, the Eastern cults suppose it to
be an immutable law of rewarding justice; a law that is independent of any
higher, conscious will. The fortunate, healthy and wealthy people are those
that have accrued righteous karma. Less fortunate and suffering people are
those that have received their just rewards for their previous mistakes and
sins. Simply put, under karma, sin and punishment have a precise mathematical
correlation. There is no merciful, forgiving God or Saviour, Who would redeem
the person’s sins. The implacable law of karma collects all the infractions
committed by a person and over the next transmigrations - which could number
hundreds, thousands or even millions! - compels it to lament them.

Apparently the edicts of karma arose through
the need to explain the reason for suffering. By applying its principles, it
can be said that the suffering of an innocent child is the result of
transgressions committed in a previous life. However, if this principle is
examined in detail, one would find that it invariably legitimises injustice. As
the Eastern philosophy states that after death the personality of the deceased
disintegrates into cosmic energy and consequently, after reincarnation, comes
into being again, how is this new person to know for what he is being
punished? His suffering will not realise any moral lesson, but rather leave him
with a dull feeling of life’s injustice.

LIFE BEYOND the GRAVE and the
TRANSMIGRATION of SOULS

In accordance with the Christian faith,
suffering and death are closely connected to the tragic Original Sin. Without
it happening, Man would have eternal life, but because of it, he must die. No
amount of personal suffering, good deeds or great exploits will erase his
spoiled moral nature and restore him to his original immortal state, as created
by God. The tragedy of the Original Sin was repaired by Jesus Christ. His
sufferings and death on the Cross redeemed Mankind’s sins, destroyed the power
of death and restored Man’s immortality. Although the mystery of redemption is
not understood by our limited mentality, the belief in resurrected Christ’s
power of regeneration gives the faithful great comfort, convincing him that
after death, he too will be resurrected by the Destroyer of death.

God loves us and pities us as His own
children. When we weaken morally and even sin, He doesn’t seek revenge or even
chastises us. Instead He waits patiently for us to reflect on our actions and
then assists us to return to the path of righteousness. When He allows grief or
sorrow to enter our lives, it is not done as punishment for our transgressions,
but rather applied as a healing agent for our own good. When we do not oppose
God, He directs everything toward our spiritual welfare and salvation. Our
object in life is to attain eternal blessed life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

In contrast to the bright Christian embroidery
of hope for a full rehabilitation and restoration of the soul, the alternative
beliefs of the Eastern cults appear gloomy and fatalistic. Everything that
occurs on Earth is subordinate to destiny and the merciless karma. “Salvation”
is acquired not by way of faith and conscious pursuit toward virtue but through
the mechanical and cyclical progress of reincarnation. To restrain a person
from committing good or bad deeds, his fate is predetermined just like the
movement of wheels inside a clock. Finally, after all its ineffectual wandering
from body to body, instead of gaining eternal life, the soul is doomed to
disappear into the cosmic Absolute, wasting all its accumulated experiences.
While a Christian awaits the resurrection of his singular earthly body, the
Eastern adherent regards his body as a prison-like temporary shell from which
he will eventually escape. In Hinduism, the impersonal spiritual being is
obliged to improve his karma through a series of reincarnations - from one
person to another, or to a monkey, or even a plant.

Attempting to explain the existence of evil on
Earth, the teachings of karma and reincarnation contain grave injustices,
because every human being is predestined for the same end. Neither the
righteous that had performed countless good deeds will receive any reward, nor
the most monstrous criminal receive any punishment. People like the great Saint
Nicholas and the infamous butcher of millions of innocent human beings, Joseph
Stalin, will inherit the same end and merge together into a faceless Absolute.
What can be a more grotesque and profane perspective than this?

The paradox of this system lies in its
absence of self-justification. If every person lived many lives, expended his
karma and achieved spiritual completeness, it would be logical to expect that
eventually the whole human race would acquire perfection. Unfortunately, in
reality, we are witnessing an acceleration of moral degradation in our society:
increase in crime and depravity; expansion of hatreds, even among the young...
All this conforms precisely to the predictions of the Bible regarding mankind’s
spiritual degeneracy before Christ’s Second Coming.

Teachings on reincarnation have never been
confirmed with any objective proof. Under the assertion of having lived
previously, recollections of some “familiar” places by people can easily be
proven as figments of imagination. Our brain is continually accumulating in our
subconscious all manner of audio-visual impressions. Then, at a specific
moment, these fragmented impressions can combine into a mental picture, inducing
that person to “recognise” that which in reality he is seeing for the first
time. These “recollections” are used as proof by the Eastern cults to promote
their reincarnation. It needs to be stated that all examples of
“recollections” have contained no substantive information. These persons were
unable to “remember”: any languages that they had spoken; any specific events
in their “past” lives; any literary or scientific information; no names of
people that they had come into contact at that time. In other words there is no
recall of activities which our senses accumulate and experiences that formulate our intellect during our lifetime.
All these aspects inexplicably " evaporate ", leaving " reincarnation " an empty
word.

However, the many examples found in the lives
of the Holy fathers, spiritual literature and indeed numerous contemporary
narratives concerning life after death, disprove the occult teachings of
reincarnation. Indeed, there are many instances where the appearing souls of the
dead were able to share their experiences and knowledge gathered during their
singular life on Earth. Their individuality was not erased with death. When
Moses and Elijah appeared to Christ on the high mountain of Tabor ( hundreds of
years after their departure from Earth ) they retained a total understanding of
what they were during their earthly life.

All instances recorded by doctors and
para-medics, show that the soul was left un-changed after its exit from the body. In cases
where the soul desired to return to its body, it was for the purpose of
completing its unfinished mission and not for the commencement of a new life.
Apart from this, meetings of newly departed souls with previously deceased
relatives, prove that individual identities remain intact. All major religions
recognise that " I ", with all its earthly experiences, continues after death.
Therefore, the unalterable spiritual state of the individual survives,
diametrically opposing the Hindu notion of reincarnation and the dissolution of
the soul into Nirvana.

From the above we can see that the Eastern
belief in reincarnation conflicts directly with the Christian teachings of
redemption. This is highlighted by the example in the Bible where the wise
robber on the cross inherited the Kingdom of Heaven in an instant by turning to
God and bypassing karma and the cyclical reincarnation through the cosmic
corridors.

Consequently, God's redemption of our sins
frees us from the power of cosmic processes and blind destiny.

CONCEPTION OF SALVATION, GOOD and EVIL.

Strictly speaking, " salvation " is a purely
Christian idea that is central to its faith and is certainly unknown to the Eastern cults.
Christianity teaches that God created Man for eternal life. Had there been no
original sin, there would have been no need to save him. The original sin, apart
from morally flawing Man's nature, introduced decay into his internal life
thereby denying him a living communion with God. Its consequences were so great
that God had to send His only Son to become a human and redeem the sins of
mankind.

Sin, with its infectious and deadly
consequences is inherited by every human being, and purely personal endeavours will not get rid of
it. For this we need God's help.....a Saviour!

If Christ had not redeemed our sins on the
cross, humanity would have been doomed to eternal death - not in the destruction of the
soul but to eternal darkness and torment.

Because of Jesus Christ, the path to salvation
is open to everyone. His innocent blood spilled on the cross cleansed us of our
sins and regenerated our souls. However, this process is not automatic. It is
essential to voluntarily apply oneself and believe in Him, accept His teachings
and live a Christian life.

Fasting, prayer, study of God's Word,
contemplations on God, good deeds, Mysteries of the Church are all important
means toward obtaining spiritual renovation. Accordingly, there are two cardinal
conditions governing the salvation of one's soul; personal effort toward
reaching God, and His help granted through His benevolence.

Salvation means the restoration of the
person's " duality " and the erasure of all sins and their consequences. This condition would be
greater than that enjoyed by Adam because it will transform and spiritualise
both mankind and the physical world. Decomposition will be replaced with
incorruptibility and the righteous will glow like the sun in their Father's
Kingdom. The degree of bliss and joy one receives will be commensurate with the
moral level that one attained during its lifetime. As a result, Christianity
calls for us to multiply our God-given talents and increase our spiritual
treasures through pious living. If you sow generously, so shall you reap a
bountiful harvest.

Hindu beliefs have a completely different
understanding of life. In rejecting the Original Sin and the everlasting soul,
they repudiate the need for salvation. Their whole attention is centered on
self-development using diverse methods of yoga and meditation, with the highest
achievers of these exercises, perceiving their " divinity ". In effect, the
sooner one attains perfection in these fields, the sooner that individual will
receive the ultimate happiness i.e. dissolvement into Nirvana. From a Christian
standpoint this begs a question - what is the " ultimate happiness " when a person doesn't
feel it, and how does it differ from death ?

Obviously all these pronouncements are a play
on words.

While in the area of morality, Christian
teachings make clear and precise distinctions be- tween good and evil, Eastern cults promote
them on conditional understandings. The moral relativity of these tenets flow
logically from their fundamental belief in monism – everything is one. It is
true to say that with Indo-theosophical writings ( as with writings of any
religion ) one can find many remarkable thoughts on pious living, outstanding
thoughts and inspirational advices. This cannot be attributed to their doctrines
but rather to God's gift of moral sense and innate desire for good.
Consequently, every person - including those that have never read the Bible or
believe in God - feel a natural repulsion toward iniquity and an impulsive
gravitation toward piety.

However, if a person delves deeply into Hindu
philosophy it will become apparent that their understanding of good and evil is
relative and subjective. While what some might regard as evil, in another plan
this might lead to goodness. This philosophy teaches that " good " and " evil "
are needed just like light and darkness; like positive and negative charges in
an atom or North and South in a magnetic field. Although they are different,
they are individually competent sides of the Primary Reality and are
indispensable for the harmonious balance of life in the universe. Therefore,
strictly speaking, there is no sin or vices. Neither are there any substantial
differences between piety and iniquity, saint or criminal - all this is a
temporary karma that will be ground by the millstone of reincarnation and
dissolved into a boundless sea of Primary Reality. Consequently, a person is not
responsible for his actions as he is only a small cog in a universal machine.
Personal acceptance of one's actions as being good or evil is just an illusion
while Buddhism has developed a method to do away with such illusions.

Obviously, such beliefs run contrary to the
Christian understanding of the purpose and aims of life. Instead of having a
real communion with God through prayer, the Hindu tenets advocate; the
establishment of mental telepathy with mahatmas ( spirits ) and gurus, leaving
into the astral body, repeating the mantra, to summon the spirits
etc...Rejecting repentance before God and regeneration, these cults instill into
their adherents the need to rely on ones own personal strength and to develop a
feeling of " divinity " and superiority over the un-enlightened.

CHRIST and THE HINDU AVATARS

Just as the idea of salvation occupies the
central position in the Christian faith, so does the First coming of Christ
regarded as a unique and unrepeatable event. The Only Son of God, appeared on
Earth as a human with the intention to regenerate us, and indeed more than this
- to join us to His divine nature. He ascended into Heaven with His transfigured
body in order to remain forever - Man-God. His redemptory sufferings on the
Cross and His glorious Resurrection from the dead- all indefeasible aspects of
the great purpose of Man's salvation.

These acts were performed only once and
contain within themselves, inexhaustible spiritual power that will continue to
save the faithful till the end of Earth's existence. The Second Coming of Christ
our Lord will not be to instruct or save but to judge the world and mete out
just rewards to every human being, according to his deeds.

Eastern-occult teachings acknowledge Christ as
one of their " avatars ", a materialised

Vishnu and Primary Reality. Although the
Hindu god is impersonal, at times it assumes human form and this " god-human " figure is
called Avatar. While Christ appeared on Earth only once in order to redeem
Mankind, the Krishnas regard their Bhagavad - Gita as one of many sequential and
divine incarnations, which number 21. For example, the divinity of Vishnu
incarnates in the form of Narayana and acts as a prototype of all avatars. Other
avatars include Buddha, Rama, Krishna, Confucius, Zaraostra, Mohammed, King
George V, Mahatma Ghandi etc... " Like the countless numbers of rivers that are
created by the ocean, ( through evaporation and rain ) which never runs dry, so
are the countless incarnations of our Lords " exhorts the Hindu writings. These
avatars appeared at critical times in human history in order to reveal certain
truths.

Every avatar in the Hindu cults receives total
respect from their believers. Being divine and possessing supernatural powers
(siddhis) places it above the laws of karma. Its arrival is looked upon as an
act of love. Residing in a human body, it can uncover human emotion, although
its spiritual state transcends both time and space (maya). Chapter 10 of the
Bhagavad - Gita Krishna declares that " I am the prince of demons ". This
acknowledgment certainly demonstrates the evil side of the Hindu avatar.

In his Epistle to the Thessalonians, Apostle
Paul writes of the last avatar (antichrist) that is " ....coming of the lawless
one...according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying
wonders, ".( Chp 2:9 )

FATE and GOD'S PROVIDENCE

Christianity teaches that irrespective of our
stubbornness & continual sinning, God continues to care for us like a most
loving father would about his children. Not only are our total lives under His
control, but every minute experience is directed toward our benefit. If we did
not oppose Him and lived our lives like obedient children, there would be no
evil on Earth, and our existence on it would conclude in the eternal joys of
Heaven. People perish because God does not interfere with their free will, nor
does He force them to believe in Him, or live righteously. When we entreat God
for guidance and help, His unlimited power is capable of changing the natural
course of events, even those which our minds imagine are impossible. In a word,
our lives are determined not so much by external factors, as by our free will
and God's providence.

On the other hand, followers of Hinduism
believe in the blind subordination to the cosmic processes. As there is no
higher Reason and Will and our freedom is an illusion, then the world is
governed by destiny. That is why these followers believe in fate and astrology.
In determining their future, they turn to the horoscope, fortune tellers, cards
and believe in omens and signs. In an effort to justify their belief in the
stars, they quote the controlling influence of the moon on the ocean tides; the
germination of seeds and the inner sensations of individuals.

There is no denying that the stars and the
moon have some influence on us, as well as the seasonal weather, humidity, cold and a million
other internal and external factors. But they only have an influence, while God
controls everything. Consequently, Christianity teaches its faithful to
constantly turn to God our Saviour, for assistance and guidance. There are many
examples of prayer achieving the impossible.

ESCHATOLOGY - DOCTRINE ON THE END OF THE
WORLD

Christianity prepares the believer for the
Second Coming of Christ, which will occur with the end of the physical world. Coming to
Earth, Christ will pass judgment on all humans and demons, meting out His just
rewards according to one's deeds. Earth and everything in it will be incinerated
and God will replace it with a new world and new heavens " where truth will
dwell ". Then the righteous will enter eternal life, while the others will
inherit eternal damnation with the devil and his demons.

The Holy Scripture tells us that the period
before the end of the world will witness a temporary apostasy from Christianity
with a corresponding expansion of evil. Many false prophets will appear,
seducing people with their destructive teachings. Mankind's faith in God will
weaken and the majority will be captivated by the occult, submitting themselves
to every imaginable vice and worshipping demons. This apostasy will be
controlled by the " great " ruler, named by the Bible as the Beast or
Antichrist. Apparently, he will not only be the head of a world government in a
political sense but also an innovator of religious ideas.

His rule will be extremely effective due to
his vigilance. Christianity will be regarded as outmoded, fanatical and bankrupt while its
followers will face martyrdom.

Mankind's accelerated immorality will be
accompanied by a general social and physical degeneracy; all-destructive conflicts between
nations will erupt; deadly bacterial epidemics, starvation, earthquakes will
increase, the oceans will " churn " and even the " heavenly powers will agitate
". Fortunately Antichrist's rule will be a short one as the Lord Jesus Christ "
.....will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness
of His coming. " (2 Thessalonians 2 : 8)

On the other hand, the Hindu revelations are
totally different. They paint a very rosy picture of the coming of the great
Avatar. This great " teacher-messiah " will bring to humanity, tolerance,
happiness, world-wide peace and order. With his arrival, an era of prosperity
will reign, creating heaven on Earth.

As can be seen from the above analysis, every
specific element in the Christian teachings is covered by the Eastern-occult
ones - appearing similar on the surface, yet in essence, completely different.
Any person not versed in theology will find it difficult to ascertain what is
fact and what is fiction. To " prove " the religious truth of one or the other
side is an impossibility, because this belongs to the spiritual world and
inaccessible for laboratorial determinations. However, if a person prays to the
Heavenly Father with all his might, that person will feel God's living presence
and the warmth of His love. This internal experience will convince that person
that God is a live Being with whom you can communicate, One that accepts our
prayers, enlightens our minds and helps us through difficult moments. With this
type of perception of God, the Indo-occult conceptions fall apart like a house
of cards.

and Judge that exists neither in time
or progressing through the stages of

space. He is perfect in every way and
is reincarnation, development and

not subject to any processes of
evolution ultimate dissolution

or changes.

*Earth as well as time, space and
energy Earth and "God" are one and the same.

that fills it was created by God out of
nothing. Eternal Earth is traveling through

cycles of
germination, evolution
and

finally, disintegration.

*God controls the world & the lives of
every Fate, destiny and the movements of

human being. If we do not oppose His will
& blind cosmic forces determine a

be obedient to Him, our Heavenly
Father person’s future. A human is a speck

will bring us to eternal
life. in the cosmic mechanism.

*Time is rectilinear: creation of Earth &
Man, Time is not straight but cyclical; the

incarnation of Christ & His sacrifice for
our method of Earth's emergence, its evo-

redemption, resurrection of the dead,
Final lution & disintegration is continually

Judgment & eternal life are all
singular repeated. Earths appear for the sake of

& unique events that can never be
repeated. being destroyed.

*A person is a dual being in which the
body The soul is a passing condition. After

& the soul is united in an eternal
bond, many reincarnations it & its indivi-

interrupted briefly through
death. The person, duality will dissolve into Nirvana.

the individuality & the conscious self are

unique and eternal .

*Sin is a frightful, immoral evil that has
dam- Sin does not exist, only evil karma. A

aged our nature. We can rehabilitate
our- person is liberated from it through a

selves only with God's help.
series of reincarnations.

*Good and evil, virtue and vice, truth
and Good and evil are relative understand-

apostasy are absolute
conceptions. ings, depending upon one's point of

view and
intellect

*God is the sole source of spiritual
truth. There are no divine revelations. Indo-

Through His prophets and apostles, He
has occult tenets are based on "intuition"

taught us what to believe in and how to
live and the authority of "spirits".

rightly. These Divine Revelations are con-

tained in the Holy Scriptures.

*Christ is the incarnate Son of God, the
only Christ is only one of many avatars,

Saviour that will eternally remain as
God- coequal with Krishna, Buddha, Zara-

Human. ostra, Confucius, Mohammed etc..

*A person acquires eternal life through
the Idea of salvation does not exist.

belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, and by
lead- Sole purpose in life is for "self-

ing a righteous
life. “improvement” i.e.
self-perfecting

to the recipes of yoga and medi-

tation.

*At the end of Earth's existence,
resurrection In the end, the many reincarnations

of the dead will be accomplished by
Jesus of the soul will terminate by

deliquescing into the ocean of

Christ, after which every human being
will Primary Reality (Nirvana).

receive either eternal glory or eternal
con-

demnation.

*Spiritual fathers are called upon to teach
the Guru is a
self-sufficient

word of God just as Christ's
Apostles did & to divinity, that demands absolute

invent something new is not
permissible. and unconditional sub-

The teachings of a pastor deserves
attention ordination.

only when it is in harmony with the Church.

PRAYER and MYSTICAL ENLIGHTENMENT

" If therefore the light that is in you is
darkness, how great is that darkness ! " Mat. 6:23

Its not important what it's called -
extrasensory acquirements or expanded consciousness, cosmic feeling or mysterious enlightenment, a
feeling of one's divinity or some such similar impression - its source is the
same. The teachings that offer this state may be yoga, Zen-Buddhism,
transcendental meditation, scientology, "New age" or some other occult groups.

If we were to eliminate the outer
inconsequential semantics of these words, we would be left with the core of such
a feeling - a trance. This is developed with the assistance of dark spirits,
and eventually leads to self-aggrandizement.

All Eastern cults promote mystical
enlightenment. In order to achieve this, they advise the rejection of all
criterion of reason. Paradoxically enough, those cults that aspire to reveal the
eternal mysteries of life, are the ones that brand reason and logic as enemies
of internal experiences and are retardants for spiritual enlightenment. They
also repudiate all spiritual authorities, including the Holy Bible and
experiences of Christian ascetic Saints.

The denial of objective criteria by these
cults is self-delusory, and is a by-product of self- induced changes to one's persuasions. This
shift is assisted by the subjective principle;

" If it works, it means good ". Adherents that
have attained mysterious enlightenment, respond to the question as to how they
achieved such a state by rolling their eyes & going into a trance. After a short
while and upon awakening, instead of articulating a sensible answer, they give a
sweet smile and exclaim " Try it yourselves and you will be convinced." When
feelings replace reason and all objective criterion are discarded, then all
attempts to differentiate between reality and illusion are lost in the sea of
subjectivity.

In Christian teachings, every subjective
perception is prone to examination in the light of the Bible's witness and
spiritual experiences of the Church. Reason must be on guard against emotions
and not allow them to break out into reverie, otherwise this will place that
person in a vulnerable position where he can be easily seduced by the devil.

Spiritual enlightenment is a state known to
many righteous people. It has been experienced by prophets of the Old Testament,
by Christ's Apostles and by many desert-dwellers. They all, in one voice, warn
about the dangers of actively endeavouring to obtain some mysterious
enlightenment & evoking it by any means within one's disposal. It is imperative
for a human being to cleanse one's self from sin, reform one's heart spoiled by
illicit desires and humbly aspire to reach God - these are the first and
foremost tasks for every Christian. Legitimate spiritual edification comes only
from God and is granted when He sees fit. It is a reflection of God's mercy and
not the result of personal endeavours or reward for some great exploit or deed.

To a person in possession of authentic
spiritual enlightenment, the world & everything ar-ond him ceases to exist as he perceives the
power of God and his own pitiable state.

In this situation, a person experiences an
indescribable inner peace and humility.... reason, senses and will - blend into a
miraculous harmony, and the heart is inflamed with a son's love for God. There are no feelings of
"sweet ecstasy, superiority or divinity”, which are usually experienced by
people indulging in the mysterious occult of “enlightenment."

When one is truly enlightened by God, all the
revelations in the Holy Scripture become more lucid and compelling. Reason does
not reject them but is rather enriched by these disclosures.

However, in order to restrain us from
developing self-reliance and pride, God in a sense, withholds from us the conscious feeling of His
presence. Nevertheless, a soft, yet unwavering and barely distinguishable light
will filter into a person's soul during sincere prayer, heartfelt atonement,
contemplative reading of the Bible, spiritual meditation, attendance of a church
service and partaking of Holy Communion. Only in the next world will be able to
experience the full joy from God's life-giving Light.

Eastern cults not only do not caution its
followers about demons and their seductive powers, but actually encourage and
recommend methods to the faithful so that they may come into contact with them.
Varying forms of yoga and meditation promise the release of the soul from the
constraints of its body and blending into the Primary Reality. As the human
body, with its physical sensations, impedes the soul's efforts to receive
spiritual illumination, one must turn to the mystics for its " release " through
the " astral projection." In this self-induced trance, the person loses all
sense of time or space. The ability for rational and critical observation is
crushed and all defenses invalidated. Without realising it, this poor wretch has
cleared the path for the multi-faceted demons to enter his sub-conscious. Having
created a loop-hole into the innermost core of his soul, the mystic has allowed
the demons to continue their influence long after awakening from the trance.

While it is true that having attained mystical
enlightenment through occult means, these people experience extraordinary feelings of
ecstasy and divinity, this condition is unhealthy and fraught with danger. Their
behaviour can be likened to those that are under the influence of narcotics. In
their senseless self-delusion, their reverence before the Almighty is replaced
with an arrogant feeling that I am god. All feelings of moral responsibilities
and realisation of the Final Judgment Day are evaporated. The subjective feeling
of " enlightenment " becomes the criteria for truth and the arbiter of one's
behaviour.

The following summary shows the distinctions
between Christian and Eastern teachings on spirituality.

CHRISTIAN OCCULT

*Although humans were created to enjoy
This is rejected while sin is regarded as a

eternal happiness, are in need of
restor- delusion of the mind.

ation because of their damaged state

caused by sin.

*Main objective is to believe in God
and Neither faith nor atonement are needed. A

lead a Christian lifestyle in order to
earn person can become ecstatic whenever he

eternal bliss through our association with
wants.

Him in the next world.

* The Mysteries of Christening,
atonement All this is regarded unnecessary.

and partaking of the Holy Sacrament clean-

ses the soul of its sins and renovates its

nature, eventually allowing the Holy

Spirit to enter it.

*Prayer is a dialogue with God and
its Meditation consists of repetitive chanting

main ingredients should be, sincerity
and of a single occult word (mantra)

concentration( emanating from both mind

and heart ) toward God.

*In prayer, one should not seek to
obtain Aim of meditation and yoga is to achieve

inspirational emotions but rather a
clean- the realisation of one's " divinity."

sing of the soul and seeking help to

improve one's spiritual life.

*During prayer, one must not indulge
in One must concentrate on the visualised

wishful thinking or visualise any
forms object in order to fuse with it.

or images.

*Prayer and thoughts about God
always Mystical enlightenment, being a product

enlightens the soul, even though
this of trances and demons' illusions, generates

feeling is experienced in a limited
sense, a feeling of power and superiority.

as He doesn't want us to develop a false

sense of pride.

*Conscious feeling of spiritual
enlighten- By applying psychotechnology, one can

Consequently, Christian prayers and thoughts
about God on the one hand, and the Eastern yoga practices and meditations leading to
mystical enlightenment on the other, lead to diametrically opposed directions and result in
totally different conclusions.

" HEALING " through CODIFICATION

" Many will say to Me in that day, '
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in Your
name, and done many wonders in Your name? and then
I will declare to them ' I never knew you; depart
from Me, you practise lawlessness." Matt. 7 : 22-23

Christ appeared on Earth to release us from
the devil's authority and our slavery to sin.

"....whoever commits sin is a slave
of sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides
forever." John 8:34-35. Through Christening, an individual throws off his chains
of vice and receives strength from Christ to struggle with his wicked
inclinations. There is no known passion or vice that cannot be conquered with
God's help. All one has to do is to enter positively into battle against sin by
adopting a Christian lifestyle through prayer, sincere confession, partaking of
Holy Communion and seeking God's assistance. The remarkable thing about this is
that by struggling with one's deficiencies, the soul strengthens and grows, and
it is this inner expansion that is the purpose for our living.

In place of these Christian benevolent
therapies of the soul, a raft of contemporary cults ( Krishna etc. ), individual occult " healers
" and extrasensory promoters offer their healing methods. They all offer
complete and total cures of such serious ailments as alcoholism, obesity,
smoking, drug addiction, unbridled lust and others. With minor differences in
their approaches, all these cults and individuals use the system of codification
whereby the codifier sends an occult effect on the patient's psyche through the
use of concentrated energy. As with other magian performances, codification
requires the patient to be completely open, maintain passive attention and have
unconditional faith in the " healer ". There are cases where individuals were
cured of their ailments either through occult procedures or by a codifier.

However, it must be pointed out that these
“cures” may turn out to be far worse than the actual ailment. The methods employed by the
extrasensors, magians and codifiers, ruin the protective system guarding the
human soul from the demonic world. This occurs when the patient's attention is
concentrated exclusively on the " healer ", who as a medium allows the demonic
effect to transpire. This can be likened to controlling aggressive behaviour
through a surgical operation called lobotomy, where the prefrontal lobe of the
cortex of the brain in a patient is removed. While this surgical procedure
removes that part of the brain that controls violent behaviour in psychiatric
patients, it also excises irretrievably other higher abilities like: sharpness
of intellect; emotions; creative aptitudes, and in particular, the ability to
believe in God, pray and lead a Christian life. Incidentally, if that person did
not lead a spiritual life, the waste of spiritual abilities through such an
operation would not be noticed .

In one way or another, for receiving an occult
"healing ", that person pays for it with the loss of spiritual health because
invariably, part of the spiritual qualities atrophy. (Refer to works by D.
Fortune “Contemporary psychotic defense “on occult pathology ).

The most evil of all occult practices has
recently been developed by Y. Krivonogov. Through his technique of "
psychotropnogical " hypnotism, he managed to transform a number of his " White
Brotherhood " followers into living zombies. Despite attempts by very many
hypnotists & extrasensors summoned from all the corners of former USSR, the
psychical damage inflicted on these poor creatures could not be " uncodified ".
These tragic events were extensively publicised in the newspapers in Russia and
the Ukraine, during 1993 - 1995.

Lately, many people have been worried about "
spells " and " charms ". This of course is a great boon to the professional
wizards and extrasensors. While one inflicts a spell, the other removes
it......all for a fee. Although these charlatan activities promote business for
the occult practitioners, there is a real danger in the entry of demonic
influences. A Christian has nothing to fear if that person seeks and entreats
God's help and the benevolence of the Holy Spirit. By carrying out Christian
acts of sincere prayer, attending Church services, confessing genuinely and
partaking of the Holy Sacraments, that person will be protected by Christ from
all and any "spells ".

MAIN EASTERN CULTS

HINDUISM

Hinduism came into being with the invasion of
India in circa 1500 B.C. by Aryan tribes from Central Asia. Since then, it has
progressed through many stages of evolution and fragmentation. The Aryan tribes
brought with them Vedism - belief in all types of gods, the number of which is
constantly increasing. They believed in transmigration, cremated their dead and
practised fire-cleansing rituals. For the first 500 years, the Aryan conquerors'
beliefs were handed down orally. Around the year 1000 B.C., these instructions
were formalised in written formats of poems and prayers called Ved or Vedanta,
meaning " wise pronouncements " or " knowledge ". This collection proved an
enormous influence on the religious-philosophical development of the following
Hinduism. Many gods of dubious moral characteristics became patrons of different
types of sadism and sexual aberration. On the basis of transmigration, the caste
system came into being.

From the 6th. century B.C. and up to the Birth
of Christ, Hinduism found itself in a declining period, with its Indo-religious
outlook on the world adopting a very pessimistic character. In this period,
Indian asceticism emerged and the guru came forth as a religious teacher.
Fundamental principles of modern Hinduism started to evolve, while the coarse
pagan belief in many gods began to lean toward Monism where God and the world
are one and the same.

This Pantheistic concept found a receptive
home in the foundations of Hinduism, becoming the cornerstone for all its
dogmas. Life on Earth was accepted as a continuous transmigration of the soul
(sansara) in its efforts to escape the punishing law of Karma. Full freedom
(moska/mukti) from life's cycles is attained only when the soul (atman) fully
dissolves and merges with the universal soul of Brahma. This notion is one of
the branches of Brahmanism on which Hinduism is based. At approximately the same
time, Buddhism was born as a counter-reaction to the abuse of the Brahmin caste
system.

Hinduism's last stage of development occurred
( after Christianity was born ) when the literary work, Veda, was confirmed as
its holy writings. Their religious philosopher Shankara, floated the idea that
everything we see - objects or events - are illusions. Asceticism became more
extreme, while dharma - consciousness of moral obligations - assumed the path of
liberation from illusions of the world, toward merging with " One ". God-Brahma
assumed the senior position among the gods while " lord " Krishna ( tenth
reincarnation of the god-Vishnu ) became the object of universal reverence.

Although for over 3000 years Hinduism did not
seek converts, in 1890 Swami Vivekananda ( former pupil of the reformer
Ramakrishna ) arrived in USA and opened the Vedanta Society in New York. From
then on, many Indian-oriented societies had sprung up: Transcendental
meditation; World Society of Self-consciousness of Krishna; Divine Light
Mission; Society of Eckankar. Many contemporary sects, cults and " eastern "
denominations are imbued with Hindu ideas: Theosophy, Christian Science,
Anthroposophy, Freemasonry, Bahai'I Faith, Church of
Scientology.........Simultaneously with these teachings, numerous self-appointed
gurus materialised, promoting various methods of securing self-awareness and
unearthing internal potential.

ITS TEACHINGS

Vedic literature presents itself as a
compilation of a very heterogeneous religious-philosophical material and
national epos. The first part ( Rig Veda ) contains hymns, formulae for
performing sacrifices, legends, prayers - all saturated with polytheistic and
heathen ideas. The second part ( Vedanta - a later creation ) comprises Hindu
religious-philosophical outlook on the world. Although ancient Hinduism included
innumerable gods of every conceivable nature, with time, this understanding
changed . They are now seen as different manifestations of the same principal.

The Indian saying " Brahma is one - there is
no other " smacks of Monism. It is not a transcendental identity but a principle
found in the hypothesis on existence. In Hinduism, three of their many ancient
heathen gods acquired special significance. Consequently, Brahma became
god-creator, Vishnu, god-protector with the ability to incarnate, and Shiva god
destroyer. Obviously, this belief has nothing to do with the Christian Holy
Trinity. These three Hindu gods are a reflection of the same impersonal primary
principle of being.

In their understanding, because our world is
made up of pure energy, the substance of all objects does not exist and is purely an
illusion. Just as dreams exist in our imaginations during sleep, our world in its own way is just
a divine dream. God is the soul of the world (Mahatman) and every other " separate " soul
(Atman) appears as his reflection. Hinduism attaches great meaning to the
transmigration of souls. This belief has permeated into many Eastern cults,
including Theosophy and the " New Age " movement. Having no singular system for
salvation, it embraces the philosophy of Yoga (mystical enlightenment & merging
with the universal soul) which offers different paths to salvation, depending
upon one's abilities and proclivities. The purpose of all these faces of Yoga is
to uncover one's divinity. While these diverse approaches achieve the same
conclusions, these experiences range in time from short to very lengthy. The
unenlightened soul is obliged to reincarnate a thousand times or more before
securing tranquility in Nirvana. While the existence of heaven and hell is not
denied, they are not viewed as final destinations but rather as transitory situations in
the cycle of reincarnation. Inasmuch as a person is regarded as part of the
world soul and therefore, a "god", sin is regarded as an illusion and feelings
of moral blame and responsibility before the Judge, as superstitious
mob-mentality. Accordingly, ignoring the Christian Ten Commandments, the Hindu
follower doesn't feel the slightest need to atone for his misdemeanors or
improve one's self. The purpose in life is to filtrate through as many
reincarnations as necessary in order to achieve Nirvana.

This dissolution and merger with Brahma
acquires nothing but eternal death through the annihilation of one's individual existence.
Hindus regard that as the ultimate blessing.

While every religion has its own system of
hierarchy and government, in Hinduism anarchy reigns supreme. Hinduism can be
expressed in a great variety of rituals, ranging from the lofty and
inspirational to the lowest and the cruelest. While one branch may preach total
rejection of blood-letting, another may advocate blood-thirsty sacrifices and
indulgence in the lowest form of dissolute depravity. Hinduism has no central
church nor any moral codes.

" Truth is one. It's people that interpret it
in different ways." trumpets the Hindu writings. It is this pronouncement that
truly exposes Hinduism for what it really is...the most inconsistent and
flexible false religion ever invented by man. It doesn't reject other faiths
because it regards them as parts of one belief. Over its lengthy existence, it
had absorbed many tenets of other religions, saturating itself with
contradictions which the followers don't seem to mind. Notwithstanding its
metamorphosis, absence of moral norms and inconsistencies, it cannot be said
that dogmas are non-existent in Hinduism. Its cornerstone principle that " all
is " one "qualifies it to be tolerant and universal.

BUDDHISM and ZEN BUDDHISM

Being a by-product of Hinduism, Buddhism
inherited many of its major traits. Like Hinduism it lacks organisation and
definitive doctrines. The question whether Buddhism is a religion or a
philosophy is an arguable one. Buddha himself did not regard his reflections as
a religion. He recognised neither gods, doctrines or faiths. In his " Buddhist
Catechism ", the founder of the Theosophical movement Alcott, defines it as
".....of all religions, Buddha is the only one that teaches: ultimate joy
without God, continuation of life without a soul, ecstasy without Heaven,
sanctity without Christ, redemption through one's own effort without -
religious rites, prayer, atonement and without assistance from the Saints and
the clergy. Finally he teaches perfection in an earthly life.

If you called Buddhism atheistic, you will get
no argument from its followers. Everything in it - its rituals and espousals,
its nature and philosophy are arranged to create the illusion that a person does
not exist.........and indeed everything in the universe has no specific
substance and therefore is an illusion. That is why many given situations are
expressed by Buddhism in negative terms, qualifying it as a philosophy of
pessimism.

ITS HISTORY

Buddhism was established by Siddhartha Gautama
( 563-483 BC ) details of which are clothed with legend. Allegedly, he was an
Indian prince who was surrounded since birth, with everything pleasing and beautiful. Upon
attaining manhood, his first venture into the outside world left him shocked from the stark
poverty and suffering he encountered. Soon after, he left his wife, children, home and
wealth to roam as a beggar throughout the land, in search of the truth. One day, while deep in
meditation, his mind was illuminated with the thought that all suffering was
brought about by the individual's thirst for life. It then stood to reason that
if you destroy all desires within yourself, you destroy suffering. After this "
illumination ", he was proclaimed Buddha, meaning " the enlightened one ".

He preached against the caste system in his
own country, maintaining that all people are equal before God, and encouraged mercy and
compassion. He called for everyone to become monks as only their regimented lifestyles
of self-denial could secure “enlightenment ".

Any activity that attaches a person to
material things will result in suffering. Buddha never commented on the life
hereafter because he regarded it as having no bearing on reality. He considered
the ultimate aim for existence was Nirvana - state of total contentment, free of
all thoughts, feelings and desires. He called this situation as blessedness.

In the year 236 B.C., a council of 500
Buddhist monks collected and recorded the oral teachings of Buddha. This
collection was named Tunumaka. Thanks to the labours of Asoka (274-236 B.C.) and
his active missionary efforts, Buddhism started to spread through Burma, Syria,
Ceylon, Egypt and Macedonia. Upon his death, Buddhism began to fragment into
different sects.

ITS TEACHINGS

Questions about God, creation of the world and
Man, and other " diversionary " themes never attracted Buddha's attention. The
principle issue of his meditations appear in his analysis of practical problems
- cause of suffering and its eradication. The cornerstone of Buddhism contains 4
" cardinal truths "; (1) Suffering fills all aspects of one's life - from
conception to death leading to further rebirth, (2) All suffering lies in the
thirst for life and efforts in obtaining pleasure, (3) Suffering can be ended by
overcoming desires and attachments, (4) The correct approach toward the
suppression of suffering lies in the Noble Eightfold Path, consisting of right
views, right action, right speech, right effort, right livelihood, right
ambitions, right contemplation and right-mindedness.

If one follows these 8 paths then that person
will be able to avoid the law of Karma and the fruitless cycles of
reincarnation. Having achieved liberation from all desires and attachments, that
person then immerses into the " blissful " feeling of Nirvana. Although the
original idea of Buddhism is expressed with contrived simplicity, its very
numerous laws governing the many " paths " are extremely complicated i.e. it
takes a lifetime to study them.

This makes it the most convoluted and
paradoxical teaching in the world.

SELF - MASTERING

This is the central theme of Buddhism. Every
event is seen as a result of " restlessness ", " worry " or " ignorance " in the
transcendental awareness of the Absolute beginning. These aspects of life are
entirely negative and are completely unnecessary. A person that believes
individuality does not exist ( as this would contradict the concept of Absolute
beginning ) and has " known enlightenment ", has commenced on the path to
tranquillity and ultimate peace in Nirvana. Buddhism preaches the total
rejection of the world. Its ideal - the obliteration of the personal being runs
contrary to the Christian tenets, which consider individuality as the most
important feature of a human being.

All the endeavours of a Buddhist sage are
aimed not at the positive aspects of our being or the accretion of truth, but
toward exposing the delusions and falsities of life. Throughout this complicated
half-philosophical, half-mystical work, there is a constantly emerging push to
minimise and indeed obliterate the vitality of existence. Unlike Christian
teachings, here the goal is not to expand and enrich the soul, but to obliterate
it.

Buddhism looks upon virtue as being
transitory, which becomes an obstacle at the higher levels of perfection, because all acts
committed in this life, invariably follow you into the next through reincarnation. Bad deeds are
worse still because they increase the suffering in the next life. Transgressions
and the problems of evil are not acknowledged in its writings.

Buddha deliberated that " evil must exist with
virtue like darkness and light, pain and joy - because order loses its meaning
without chaos just as higher cannot be without a lower."

" Irrespective how great the needs and wants
of others, nobody should sacrifice their sal- vation on their behalf " reads another part in
the conglomerate of Buddhist morality.

Rejecting the idea of a Creator and promoting
the notion that the world is evil, its philosophy actually injects corruption
into the very Absolute where " restlessness " and " worry " is engendered. These
in turn are born into our " insignificant " world, thereby qualifying it to
obliteration. It offers meditation and mystical enlightenment instead of prayer
and communion with God.

GROWTH of BUDDHISM

With time Buddhism developed two fundamental
branches: the liberal Mahayana - big wheel or wide path to salvation or The
Great Vehicle, and, the conservative Theravada - path for the old and the few,
The Lesser Vehicle. These branches are so dissimilar to one another that they
can be examined as two different religions.

MAHAYANA

Spread northwards into China, Japan, Korea,
Tibet, Indonesia and Vietnam. This belief is underscored by the occult aspects of Buddhism
with its followers indulging in incense burning, magical practices, occult
rituals, statues of Buddha are revered as those of a god as well as honoring
many other gods. The Tibetan form of Mahayana is the most occult of them all.

Here, there is a ruling class in the form of "
priests " (lamas) that study and interpret the philosophical aspects of
Buddhism. They encourage a meditative and a slow-tempo life as well as pacifism.
Every person is called to enter into harmony with nature.

THERAVADA

Spread southwards into Ceylon, Burma, Cambodia
and Thailand. Its fundamental beliefs lie in the writings of Tipitaka, which
encourages a monastic lifestyle in order to devote your life to Buddhism.
Nirvana is the purpose for living and the major virtue is wisdom. The school of
Theravada avoids rituals and promotes meditation. Understanding of God as a real
Being is non-existent.

Apart from these two branches, there exists a
Zen-Buddhism, or simply Zen, which is a Japanese form of Buddhism. Its major
doctrines announce that logical analysis is taboo....it is impossible to teach
anyone anything or to learn anything from anyone....everyone must rid themselves
of all prejudices and foreign opinions. Zen rejects all teachings and religions;
it declares that all miracles and supernatural occurrences are illusions and
mirages. It teaches that reality does not contain any objective substance and
that only subjective absorption of the mind exists. " Truth " is comprehended
instantly through intuition when the seeker and what is sought flow into one.

Writings initially may be beneficial, like
those encouraging meditation. Enlightenment, while being worthy is pointless
because Zen says it has no objective. Future is not important, only what is
happening now is important. It believes in the infallibility of a person's
intuition and rejection of all and every authority. For one's self-development,
Zen urges increasing doses of concentrated meditation - a few hours per day. In
meditation, one must free the mind from all earthly attachments and think of
nothing good or bad. It is important to focus on one thought and assimilate its
substance. Everything that a person can learn, comes from within.

More importantly, one must feel as being part
of the Whole. It is at this moment that the person will receive spontaneous "
enlightenment " termed ultimate ecstasy. Actually, what really is achieved
through this Zen recipe of meditation are hallucinations and confrontation with
demons.

The doctrines of Zen are chaotic ( apart from
showing the " path " ) as they neither confirm or deny anything. Similar to
Hinduism, Zen teaches that God and humans are one and therefore, all objects of
worship or veneration must be excluded, including holy writings, ceremonies and
rites. Zen concentrates completely on making its follower feel good and treat
everything around him as unimportant. Teachings of Zen are mainly and easily
imposed on those that are opposed to dogmas and authority. Apparently, the
majority of these converts are made up of contemporary intellectuals, whose
minds are overflowing with temporal knowledge.

Having over 300 million members makes it the
4th. largest religion in the world. Although its novices must adhere to a strict
moral code, those achieving a "master" status are allowed to do everything. In the USA during the sixties, Zen's
philosophy of " free love " gave birth to the "hippie " movement. Contemporary Bhuddism is saturated
with occult practices, sorcery and spiritualism. Being adogmatic and easily
adaptable to any religion makes it an attractive alternative. Esoteric Buddhism urges its adepts to progress
beyond love or hate, good and evil. For its follower, love is as dangerous as hate because
it binds a person to the turning wheel of creation, and the only worthy condition to be
in is that of estrangement and indifference.

Higher levels of Buddhism teach that good and
evil, as generas, do not exist as they refer to the state of being - a feeling
that must be excised by every follower.

Christianity on the other hand, does not view
desire as evil. God Himself implanted in us the thirst to create, improve
ourselves and be joyful of life. The tragedy lies in the fact that sin had
violated the balance between physical and spiritual desires, and the soul,
instead of being master of its body, became its slave. As a consequence, our
senses of value had been warped, permitting us to strive for things we don't
really need or that could even be harmful to us. Simultaneously, we neglect our
true valuable blessings - communion with God and internal peace. The purpose of
the Christian faith is to help us restore this balance by guiding our thoughts
and desires into proper order, so that we may attain eternal life.

THEOSOPHY

This philosophy founded by Elena Blavatsky
presents itself as a mélange of occult teachings, both ancient and more
contemporary - Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Cabala, Middle Age mysticism with a
mixture of Buddhism and its founder's own imaginings. While the majority of its
erratic and confused declarations are as old as Hinduism, Blavatsky's "
achievement " lies in that she presented these half-forgotten occult ideas in
such a format, as to invoke a great deal of interest from those, disposed toward
the mystical and thirsting for answers to the many mysteries of existence.
Theosophy entices people with its magniloquent catchphrases: to create a
universal brotherhood with people of all races and with the most diverse
outlooks on life; encourage the study of religions, philosophical directions and
the latest scientific discoveries; penetrate into the mysterious power of nature
and the supernatural occurrences.

Regardless of its use of Christian
phraseology, Theosophy is saturated through and through with Pantheistic
teachings. All her confirmations regarding the spiritual development of a person
and uniting with the divine beginning is based on occult metaphysics and
contrived psychology. Her ethics repudiate the absoluteness of the principles of
good and evil as well as free will, and as in Hindus, she subordinates her
followers to the laws of Karma. She has no substantive proof for her
quasi-scientific declarations, only unfounded assertions of her leaders, who
themselves were imbrued with unhealthy mysticism, charlatanism and deceit.

Although the number of Theosophical lodges
were never large, its ideas had a strong influence on the high society of
pre-revolutionary Russia, and today it has an established position in the occult
society, including the " New Age ".

ITS HISTORY

The founder of this movement, Elena Blavatsky,
was born in Russia in 1831 to an aristocratic family of German extraction ( Hahn
). In her youth, she displayed mediumistic abilities which predisposed her
toward spiritism. Her marriage at the age of 17 to an old general, Nicholas
Blavatsky, lasted just three months. After her divorce, she commenced to travel
extensively, visiting India and Tibet. Later, she was to recall in her books on
Theosophy, that during her travels, she had come into contact with discarnate
beings - mahatmas - which opened the mysteries of existence to her. Among these
spirits, she revered one above all else calling him "Lord" ( apparently
"...ruler of this world..." John 12 : 31. )

Arriving in New York in 1872, she immediately
plunged herself into spiritism. In 1875, with the assistance of Colonel Henry
Alcott she established her Theosophical Society, which endures to this day. Two
years later, she revisited India and in 1882, with Alcott, established her world
headquarters there. Publicly accused of chicanery and plagiarism, she was
compelled to leave India and begin her travels through Europe, tirelessly
enunciating her occult ideas.

Eventually, Blavatsky settled in London. In
1884, her pretensions to miracles and miraculous acquisitions of notes from "
spiritual lords " was investigated by the Society of Physical Research and found
to be unauthenticated. The Society publicly accused her of employing artifices
of sorcery, utilisation of hypnosis and especially, of charlatanism. Once again
her authority was undermined. Nevertheless Blavatsky was not discouraged and
continued with increasing fervor to write and disseminate her views. An
attentive reading of her writings will reveal many plagiaristic borrowings from
ancient occult literature, especially from Cabala. Among her " works " are
"Mysterious Document" and "The Voice of Silence". The renowned author and close
friend of Blavatsky, Soloviev, accused her of trickery and fraud.

Blavatsky was a stout woman of medium height,
bulging eyes with an agitating nature.

Having turned her back on the Russian Orthodox
faith into which she was christened, she developed a burning hate for Christianity and
focused all her life for its replacement with occult teachings. She based her authority on,
her ability to perform " miracles " by materialising items from thin air, and
"notes" thrown up to her by spiritual lords, unlocking the mysteries of
existence. In her younger years, she was the editor of a magazine called "
Lucifer ", its task being the rehabilitation of the fallen spirit. This " old
love " remained with her throughout her entire life. She married several times,
had numerous lovers and bore an illegitimate child. While vulgarity and swearing
came easily to her, she was coarse , a heavy smoker and a user of hashish. From
a psychological point of view, she presented herself as a complex example of a
split-personality. Upon reading her biography, Christ's words come to mind
invariably, when He spoke of false prophets " By their fruit will you recognize
them ".This guru-woman died in London, in 1891.

After her death, the Society started to weaken
under the leadership of Colonel Alcott. His successor, William Judge ( 1851-1929
) was able to somewhat lift it from its doldrums. Concurrently with Blavatsky's
death, a new theosophical society was formed by one of her devoted students,
Annie Besant ( 1847-1933 ) whose aim was to consolidate and explain many of
Blavatsky's ideas. She also directed the efforts of the Esoteric branch of
Theosophy, whose activities were concentrated on sorcery and spiritism.

Though few in number, theosophical lodges
currently do exist in the various cities of Europe and USA. Blavatsky's occult
preaching assisted the egression from the Church of the intelligentsia in Russia
and the subsequent penetration and spreading of Communism in that country. Many
theosophical ideas had been grasped by the " New Age " while the Liberal
Catholic church is crammed with them.

ITS TEACHINGS

It is very difficult to refute theosophical
theses, point by point, due to their bewildering perplexity. In essence,
theosophy is built on a mixture of fantastic and unsupported assertions,
boldness and a host of predications, limited only by the fantasies of their
occult " prophets ".

Similar to the Neo-Platonists and Gnostics in
the first centuries of Christianity, Theosophy asserts that the holy writings of
every religion embody a unique secret teaching that is common to all. This would
become apparent once this hidden teaching is uncovered. Naturally, this
assertion is without proof. The Christian Bible holds no such hidden doctrines
and instead, every written word in it is enunciated in a most lucid way so that
even the simplest and least educated people could comprehend the words of God
and thereby structure their lives accordingly.

As in Hinduism, Theosophy claims there exists
an omnipotent, limitless and immutable Principle ( Absolute or " world soul " )
which cannot be comprehended by the human mind. The world is eternal,
periodically going through cyclical phases of reincarnation, development and
demise so that it can re-emerge in an altered form. Human souls are part of the
all-filling soul of the universe. The world contains a large number of gods,
spirits (devas) with a complicated hierarchy, based on the Cabalist numerical
correlations.

In line with Hinduism, Theosophy proclaims "
God " as an abstract character. He is impersonal and is wholly indifferent to
mankind's fate. Following in the footsteps of ancient gnostics, Theosophy
subscribes to the hypothesis that the material universe was created by an evil
god (demiurge) who was born because a lesser divinity named Sophia (meaning "
wisdom " ) conceived an illegitimate desire to know the unknowable Supreme
Being.

Adding to the concepts of Hinduism, Theosophy
goes on to expound upon an inconstant day and night Brahman. When day enters
into the Brahman, the universe appears and so do little particles of Brahman,
i.e. "I" people that incarnate into various bodies - physical, astral, mental
etc.. This is life ! With the exit of day from the Brahman i.e. night,
everything is destroyed and the human "I" dissolves back into it......and so on
into eternity.....materialisation and destruction of worlds in a permanently
locked circle. From eternal, incomprehensible Reality emanates divinity, various
spirits and human souls (Gnostic zones). The world and its people must pass
through 7 (?!) stages of evolution .....which makes this creed outstanding for
its arbitrary declarations.

While Theosophy doesn't take up arms against
Christianity, it does regard it as a lower form of religious awareness. Just as
" Freemasonry " permits its lower-ranked adherents to remain in the Christian
faith, Theosophy allows its followers on the lower levels of knowledge, to
attend church and retain their Christian customs. However, in both
organisations, when members reach a certain level of knowledge, they are obliged
to unreservedly embrace the " true " religion. With a voice filled with pathos,
Blavatsky would declare " Truth is higher than religion." She regarded religion
as a path leading to the one centre. She encouraged the studying of, and coming
into contact with, all religions so that the individual can be enriched through
these experiences.

Theosophy by-passes asceticism, replacing it
with theoretical mysticism and independent perusals of religious-philosophical ideas.
Every convert is instilled with the idea that upon acquiring the knowledge of
Theosophical methods, that person will be able to penetrate into the mysteries
of Egyptian priests, into the mysteries of astrology and drink the cup of wisdom
of all ages. She promises the individual supernatural powers; clairvoyance,
telepathic contact, ability to influence people and bring them to your
subordination.

As can be seen, Blavatsky's Theosophy presents
itself as a confused mixture of occult teachings, built on pantheistic
understanding of the world.

YOGA

Together with the spread of Indo-occult ideas
throughout the West, an ancient creation of

Hinduism - Yoga appears to be very popular. It
is astonishing to find that a significant number of physicians defend Yoga as a
" safe and effective " method for achieving physical and psychological
well-being. In the broadest sense, Yoga is imagined as an activity that leads to
the merging into the universal soul. This is achieved through different paths -
some fast and easy, while others are lengthy and difficult. For example, Bhakti
Yoga, the most popular one in India, is the path of revering gods through the
continuous chanting of an occult name, " mantra ." Karma Yoga is the path of
serving and attracts those people inclined toward practical activity. Another is
Jnana Yoga, the path of knowledge which impels the disciple to seek guidance
from a guru and study Hindu letters. Finally, Raja Yoga is the path of
contemplation, which includes different applications of meditation, through
which the devotee learns to discipline his mind and body in order to secure
Samadhi - merger with Absolute.

Under the everyday understanding of Yoga, one
envisages it as embracing certain exercises that require particular poses,
regulation of breathing and meditation. This also offers techniques to procure
clairvoyance with the " opening of a third eye." This ability allows the
procurer to see incidents occurring at a distance as well as past and future
events. Upon reaching a definite level in his exercises, the student discovers
the shining face of none other than his " teacher ", who becomes his guide.

Depending upon the measure of one's success in
achieving higher levels of exercise in Yoga, the devotee achieves commensurately
greater revelations of his own feelings. For example, according to the recipe of Agni-Yoga,
the student at a certain stage attains a " vision of stars of the soul " in space.... a
psychedelic scene of exploding coloured dots...... a state that can be achieved
from just reading the occult books. Following this is " reflection on fires of
cleansing centres " i.e. Chark, which allegedly receives the invisible world and
through which, this invisible world wields its effect on humans. The next plane
of "enlightenment " sees the follower hearing " the voice of his invisible
teacher " revealing to him occult mysteries.( Blavatsky wrote many books
dictated to her by these voices. ) The highest level of accomplishment
transpires through the development of an " internal flame " that unites the
consciousness of the individual with that of space. This final stage engenders
the complete " revelation " of feelings in their attachment to the spirit world.
Hinduism sees in this, a mystical enlightenment.

Mantra-Yoga ( practiced by Krishnas, Tibetan
Buddhists and Transcendental mediators ) pursues the immediate visualisation and
communion with the " divine " world, and with it joy, prosperity and supernatural abilities. Every aspect of Yoga is dangerous, because it
forcibly and prematurely opens the green bud of a person's spiritual entity.
Their exercises devastate that core of a person's spiritual life.... the
spiritual centre God preordained for development in the next world, once the
person is rid of the cancerous disease of sin. There are a number of noted
authorities that have issued warnings about Yoga exercises, after seeing their
disastrous effects.

For example, Gopi Krishna notes " All systems
of Yoga are aimed at producing psychophysical changes in a person, which are
essential for the transformation of one's consciousness.

These changes are achieved through specific
physical positions and controlled breathing, awakening in the person occult driven energy
and psychic powers. This in turn produces such dramatic changes in the person's
consciousness, that the majority of them remain permanently psychologically
mutated.

Although people of our time practice yoga as a
form of exercise and regulated motion, they are ignorant of the frightful
reality where this may lead them. There are documented cases where the most
innocent yoga exercises had led to some becoming insane or demonically
possessed. However, the most tragically evil aspect of these activities is that
some individuals regard that these yoga-inspired psychological alterations -
including fits of insanity – as positive, spiritual experiences, capable of
leading a person to mystical enlightenment. The fact that the practice of yoga
can destroy both body and mind is not so inconceivable. Its aim is after all,
the destruction of one's own individuality (this "false illusion") in order
to experience the "real I"of the faceless Brahman. Moti Lal Pandit confirmed
that the "aim of yoga is to liberate a person from the ordinary condition. In
order to achieve this, one has to utilise various means : psychological,
physical, mental and mystical. All these methods appear supernatural and
anti-social in the light of its promulgated way of life, which tacitly declares
' My mortal existence does not deserve life. ' "

Given that Yoga is based on occultism, its not
all that remarkable that its application brings about irreparable psychological
shifts and illnesses.....not because of misuse, but because of its source.

Many people - including doctors - incorrectly
suppose that Yoga is harmless. However, facts prove that many psychological
illnesses and even deaths were caused through Yoga. In support of this, Swami
Prabhananda writes: " Permit me to warn you that these breathing exercises can
become very dangerous. There is a big chance that the mind will be injured,
especially if they are carried out incorrectly. Those who undertake these
exercises without any requisite supervision can become that ill, that neither
science nor doctors would be able to cure them. More than that : they wouldn't
be able to diagnose their illness."

Commenting on the Pantanjali Yoga Sutras,
Shree Purohit Swami has this warning : " In India and Europe, I met nearly 300 people that
have suffered through incorrect practices.

The doctors' examinations revealed no physical
damage so no remedial prescription could be issued. "

Hans-Ulrich Rieker, noted Yoga authority and
author of "The Yoga and Spiritual Life" exhorts: " Yoga - is not an empty
pastime, if we consider that its application can bring about death or insanity,
while in Kundalini Yoga, if the breathing ( prana ) is prematurely stopped,
there is an immediate threat to that person's life."

The previously mentioned authority, Gopi
Krishna, cautions about the dangers of Yoga exercises as they could produce
strong reactions in the central nervous system, causing death.

Chapter two, of the classical manual in the
field of Hatha Yoga, " The Hatha Yoga Pradipika " alerts :" Just as one must
fear lions, elephants and tigers, so should prana ( a 'divine' breathing energy
) be under control. Otherwise it could kill the user."

Swami Prabhavananda ( Yoga and Mysticism )
includes mental illnesses, incurable diseases and insanity as likely effects of
incorrect application of Yoga, as well as depressed and in a state of trance
feelings.........all this from a ' minor error.' "

If the teachers of Yoga were more open
regarding " underwater stones " that is connected to their beliefs, many people
would have been forewarned of these catastrophes.

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

This movement appeared during the middle of
the twentieth century, in the USA. This was promoted in the form of a simple and
openly accessible self-therapy, bringing relief from internal stress and
promoting internal concentration. Initially, the results of TM seemed so
successful that it was adopted by the armed forces, schools, jails, hospitals
and even some Christian parishes.

TM in fact is a simplified version of
Mantra-Yoga. Its technique consist in a person sitting down on the floor in a
particular position, closing his eyes, trying to breathe slowly but rhythmically
while mentally concentrating on repeating and chanting the word " mantra." It is
recommended that this exercise of 20 minutes duration, be repeated twice a day.
Its immediate purpose is to assist the individual to alleviate the build-up of
internal stress, relax and convoke his internal strength - an undisputed
necessity for every person, living in this fast tempo of modern life. The
advocates of TM are not only mute on the religious-philosophical side of their
belief but intentionally hide from their novices the fact that through their
exercises, the adherent is allied to the Hinduistic-Pantheistic occultism. In
order to popularise this movement in the USA, Maharishi Yogi, its chief "
apostle ", replaced much of its Hindu terminology with scientific-psychological
words.....although its essence still remains the same.

Indeed, upon being accepted into the fold, the
convert is drawn into a new responsibility of having to provide three types of
sweet fruit, a bunch of fresh flowers and a clean handkerchief. A basket holding
these items are then placed in front of the guru's portrait, in the initiation
room, a candle and incense sticks are lit, accompanied by soft singing in
Sanskrit.

In conclusion, the newly-initiated is given a
" mantra "( Sanskrit word ), its meaning being withheld from him and which has
to be repeated during periods of " meditation."

One might ask " What is this Mantra?" The word
" mantra " is made up of 2 words i.e. "man" meaning think, and " tra " meaning
defence or freedom from " slavery of phenomenal life - samsari." Simply put, it
is a Sanskrit phrase, word or even a formed sound. Mantras are predominantly
taken from the Ved. Any name of a god taken from the Hindu Pantheon is regarded
as a mantra. Consequently, frequent and persistent chanting of this name may be
rewarded with a visit from, and communion with this god. Mantras can be "
concrete " ( containing names of " gods " - Krishna, Shivu, Sarasvati etc.. ),
or " abstract " ( impersonal Absolute - giver of freedom and entry into
'samadhi'- " merger with the Absolute.")

A well-known yogi, Shivananda, points out in
his book “Japa-Yoga" (repeating of mantras), that every mantra is distinct
through its particular rhythm and numbers (code) and its frequent chanting opens
the path of vision to the chantor, of the mantra's divinity. In other words, the
removal of one's spiritual self-defence and association with fallen spirits.
Shivananda goes on to say that every mantra has a distinctive feature of its
divinity - davata - which determines it as a " supernatural being - higher or
lower ", as well as its source of power. This admission does not attempt to hide
the fact that mantras can also evoke lower, evil beings - the dark side of the
Force !

To learn Transcendental Meditation is easy. By
simply meditating 20 minutes twice-daily, a person arrives quickly at a
half-sleepy and weakened state - a trance. This condition of "total satisfaction
" can be likened to that of a person affected by narcotics. TM's faithful
enthusiastically proclaim the simplicity and success of its methods, carefully
avoiding any reference to the spiritual aspect of these exercises, and their
tragic consequences.

Although TM members are not asked to change
their religion nor accept some new moral principles, the very heathenish initiation and
ritualistic chanting of an occult name during the ensuing exercises, places a person in
communion with Hinduism. The nature of TM's rudiments lies in the Pantheistic
understanding of Primary Reality, with which every believer tries to merge. In TM, success lies in
being able to climb the "ladder of consciousness" so that upon reaching the
seventh and final step, the achiever will be able to dissolve into the sea of
cosmic “super consciousness ", discover total tranquillity and perceive one's
own divinity. At best, this condition can be regarded as hallucinatory, while
more than likely, it is a demonic illusion. This is the ultimate aim of these
meditative exercises.

TM is the antithesis of Christian meditation &
reverent reflections on God. Christianity advises its faithful to think about
God so that their perception of their faith grows deeper & stronger.

By contemplating on the truths of his faith, a
Christian begins to get a better understanding of them - just as Christ promised
His followers " and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free." In TM, the opposite is true. Here, the very word meditation does not
correspond to its proper meaning, because with meditation there is an assumption
of an animated, mental activity, during which time a person attempts to
think....to better understand.

In contrast, TM dictates that a person must
crush within oneself, all mental activity and keep chanting a foreign word - a
routine that overloads the neuro-psychic system, forcing the brain to shut down.
Contemporary studies have proved that continuous repetition of any phrase e.g. "
apple pie ", is capable of invoking a significant change in a person's
psycho-physiological condition.

Exercises in TM leads to the shedding of one's
self-defences, allowing the fallen spirits entry into the subconscious. This had
been warned against by St.Paul - Ephesians 6 : 10-17 Ergo, one must agree that
TM is a harmful and dangerous occupation. It produces the same type of fruit as
occult pursuits: numbing one's faith, increasing pride and even derangement.

Firstly, a genuine and heart-felt prayer.
Morning prayer promotes the internal preparation & gathering of one's self,
which preserves a person from excessive anxieties during the day..... while an
evening prayer unwinds a person, giving him internal relaxation and tranquility
before sleep. It is very advisable to learn how to retain a prayerful mood
during the day, and "Christ's Prayer" is of great help..."Lord Jesus Christ, Son
of God, have mercy on this sinner," for it reminds an individual of God's
presence.

Our nervous tensions and feelings of
dissatisfaction are mainly caused through our con- sciences being burdened with sin and the
internal warring of our vices. That is why it is imperative that we cleanse our
conscience with atonement, confession and Holy Sacraments. After morning
prayers, it is very important to spend some time contemplating about God &
various other topics of faith.....to read an excerpt from the Holy Writings,
understand its meaning and how it relates to our lives. This type of Christian
meditation, strengthened by prayer, does indeed bring peace, self-awareness and
internal enlightenment.

NEW AGE MOVEMENT

This movement, NAM, is occult based and has
increased in popularity over the last decade. Some look upon it as a new
religion while others, as a new understanding of life. It must be noted that the
wording "new" in its name is a misnomer, because the religious-philosophical
ideas of this movement contains nothing new. NAM presents itself as an amorphous
mixture of very diverse, ancient yet well-known occult conceptions. The only
thing new about it is its mercantile approach in marketing its wide range of
occult material, ensured to appeal to people with every possible diversity in
taste and interest. In its contexture, NAM presents itself as a spiritual
universe or a shopping centre, where anybody can find something interesting and
beneficial.

ITS HISTORY

From the 1970's, in place of the short-lived
existence of " Secular Humanism ", NAM came into being and began to flourish
boisterously in the USA. By organising & creating a number of Indo-theosophical
societies, as well as Transcendental Meditation movements, NAM positioned itself
to adopt occult teachings. Its promises appealed to those that were, on the one
hand, disillusioned in the " outdated " Christian truths, and on the other, the
flat materialism of " Secular Humanism."

NAM never had any pretensions to be a unified
and organised establishment. On the contrary it evolved into an ever-growing net
of independent groups, sharing different occult interests.

NAM's success is greatly attributed to its
ability to quickly digest and assimilate in its huge cauldron, all the
heterogeneous teachings and learnings, promising improvement in the well-being
of individuals as well as mankind, as a whole. In principle, NAM rejects
nothing, but absorbs into itself everything that may appear mystically
interesting or practically beneficial.

Notwithstanding its recent birth in the '70s,
by virtue of this flexibility, NAM has been able to assert its influence in the
individual, family and societal spheres throughout USA, Russia, Europe and other
countries. NAM is deceptive in that it doesn't openly declare itself against
Christianity, but rather attempts to " complement " it with " fresh ideas." When
in 1992, the religious centre at Princeton University completed a nation-wide
survey of Christians, asking them what influence did NAM have on their faith,
one quarter of the respondents stated that they saw no conflict between the two.
This pales into insignificance when you consider that 60% of respondents
belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, acknowledged that NAM and Catholicism
are in full harmony ! These individuals obviously know less about their own
faith than they do about NAM. Sadly, this is understandable when you see
Catholic book-stores, awash with occult publications such as - Joshua, No Other
Name?, Turning Point, Nizam Ad-Din Awliya, The Web of the Universe, The Unity of
Reality, Beyond Patching..etc. Even some ecclesiasts and monastic figures have
shown an unhealthy interest in the " New Age."

There is a popular book titled A Course In
Miracles,( which is studied extensively by groups of Christian youth) that
outlines plainly and understandably, the teachings of Christ with practical
applications to modern day living. This book, by its external appearance and
internal division of 1200 pages into chapters, resembles the Holy Bible. Some
Catholic parishes offer study courses on this book. Meanwhile, in the American
classrooms, students are being offered recipes from the flawed teachings of the
" New Age " on how to attain increased concentrative powers in studies, how to
strengthen your potential energy, how to be more successful in life, open your
creative possibilities and find a new meaning to life.

In NAM, pride of place is occupied by
present-day holistic ideas and unconventional methods of healing. Scientific
medicine is censured as ineffective. The fundamental idea is to treat the whole
person and not just the affected organ. This proffered holistic (whole) method
of treatment includes: acupuncture, crystals, biofeedback, massages aimed at
rearranging the energising fields in the organism, vegetarian (Hindu) diets,
medicinal plants, techniques for acquiring physical & spiritual
self-completeness. Of course one cannot deny that some these "prescriptions" are
effective, given the fact that they are well-known in folk-lore medicine.

However, adapting crystals to thicken cosmic
energy deserves to be relegated to charlatanism. Unfortunately, the main problem
is that in all of NAM's unorthodox methods for treatment, there is a poisonous
element of the occult. Equally, with the use of beneficial plants and minerals,
NAM proposes yoga breathing exercises, methods to develop one's self-confidence,
exposing one's internal potential and to prime one's bioenergy. Also on offer is
astrological predictions and lessons in fortune-telling with cards.

For people with occult proclivities, NAM
presents a wide variety of occult activities that include: meditation (in the
Hindu sense), psychological training, spiritism, yoga exercises, mediumism
(channeling) & astral travel. Its ideology admits any faiths or religious
practices, irrespective how weird or extraordinary they may be. Its tenets
embrace Eastern philosophies of an existence of an invisible active energy,
located within and without the human organism, called - " CH'I " (Chinese), " KI
" (Japanese), " ILI PRAHNA " ( Yoga). Throughout the holistic centres of the
world, seances are held where the participants emerge themselves into a deep
trance and experience an intimate unity with Nature. Within its complex, there
are popular beliefs in the mysterious life of plants and mystical meanings of
numerals.

It has also assimilated a range of conceptions
from parapsychology, anthroposophy, rosicrucianism, astrology and psychology. It
invites everyone to the " altered states of consciousness. The aim of developing
a spiritual self-awareness is to erase the line of demarcation separating the
material and spiritual world, thereby experiencing the ‘wholeness of the
cosmos’".

An important idea occupied by NAM is that of
“enlightenment." In order to obtain this, it is imperative in the first instance
to rebuild one self psychologically and reassess one's values. Old outlooks on
life must be replaced with ones that are compatible to the coming new era of
Vodol. This occurs through a personal mystical experience, when the adherent
suddenly is enveloped in a sensation of merging with the cosmic spirit......of
becoming one with Earth.

Renowned promoter of NAM, Shirley MacLaine,
had this description of her " enlightenment " while having a bath: " I
unexpectedly felt that my whole body was vaporising in space.

Slowly, slowly I became water....I felt an
internal unity with my breathing and the energy surrounding me. In fact I became the air,
water, darkness of the sky, walls of the building, soap bubbles, candles, wet marble under water
and even the sound of the running stream, next to the house." This feeling of unity with
Nature and one's own " divinity ", fills a person with elation because it
appears as if he is filled with an inexhaustible " divine " energy.

In order to secure this " enlightenment ", NAM
extends a path of 4 stages: (1) " entry", when a person destroys all his
impressions of Earth; (2) " examination", during which, with the help of
psychotechnics, the subject attempts to reach new heights of awareness; (3) "
integration ", when through an intuitive process, the rational visual acceptance
of sequential scenes are weakened; (4) on the level of " conspiracy ", a person
discovers matters other than " I " - sources of energy and ways of realising
them for the " benefit of mankind."

This mystical " enlightenment " is
clandestinely served by meditation, yoga exercises, spiritual seances, hypnotism, magical
talismans, crystals, sorcerer's aids and even narcotics. A person in this state
of mystical edification is deluded into feeling that he is the absolute master
of his spirit and body, and because of his contact with the " divine energy ",
that he is " god-man."

Idea of Universal Religion. Typical of the
Indo-occult teachings, NAM conforms to the principle that in essence, all
religions teach the same thing only that it is presented in different ways. It
is essential that a person rises above one's prejudices. Being devoid of its own
religious teachings, NAM has absorbed a wide variety of Eastern cults and occult
ideas, facilitating its spread throughout the world like a net. With all its
all-encompassing pluralism, there is a dominance of anti-Christian traits, even
though it doesn't reject Christ or the New Testament. The "apostles" of NAM
speak out openly about the out datedness of Christianity & its irrelevance to
the contemporary spiritual needs. They see Christ as one of the reincarnations
of Vishnu. A person has no need of Christ because he too has a divine beginning
and can perfect his awareness and unite with the cosmic Absolute.

One of the multifaceted activities of NAM is
of a global character, preaching the: rejuvenation of the ecology, solving of
social problems, seeking ways towards political unity of all governments and
establishing unity of all peoples. Through its trained seminarists, NAM is
endeavouring to direct the activities of organisations, as well as individuals,
toward the dissemination of its ideas and implantation into business, the arts,
philosophy and culture. Beyond the transformation of individuals, NAM is seeking
a planetary restoration because everything is but one. The hypothesis of Gaia
confirms that Earth has its own life... mother - earth. It further asserts the
necessity for political changes so that a mutually arrived action can be taken
to restore Earth's environment. " Because we are citizens of one world, we need
a united world, we need a universal spirituality. Before this century passes,
spiritual leaders must convene & work out universal laws that will be applicable
to all religions. They must then advise all the political leaders, so that they
will know what God, gods or cosmos expects of humanity. Only a sole, united
political world system, will be able to bring common harmony. Our planet is
currently steeped in delusion. It is imperative we start acting."

The hierarchy of NAM act through international
banks and financial institutions, committed to the establishment of a sole world
authority. This establishment would incorporate all political, economic and
religious groups, for the purpose of halting wars, averting ecological
disasters, avoiding economic crises and preventing political instability. NAM
preaches the coming of the bright era of Vodol - something similar to the
Kingdom of God, only without God or Christ. The coming epoch is thought as a new
stage of society's development, when humanity acquires a planetary awareness.
Interesting reading on this subject, can be found in Robert Muller's " New
Genesis: The Shaping of a Global Spirituality ", and Peter Russell’s " The
Global Brain: Speculation on the Evolutionary Leap to Planetary Consciousness."

Consequently, the " New Age Movement "
presents itself as a very dangerous organisation.

Through its cunning and mercantile approach it
camouflages its appropriated ancient occult ideas in recipes for strengthening
one's health, improving one's well-being and achieving success. Should a
pan-religion ever emerge incorporating all races and cultures, it would
certainly be akin to NAM.

OTHER OCCULT MOVEMENTS - CABALA

This group, meaning in Hebrew - " received
tradition "- came into being at the dawning of Christianity. With time, it
absorbed many occult ideas from Pythagorean, Gnostic and Neo-Platonist cults.
Apparently, it sprung up as a reaction to the soulless ritualism and formalism
of Judaism.

Its initial aim was to reveal the secret
teachings allegedly held in the Torah - first 5 books of the Bible, written by the prophet Moses -
and the supplementary mystical ideas, passed down orally, from generation to generation. In
order to obtain these secrets, Cabala devised a complicated method of numerical
calculations that displaced the Biblical text.

Cabala is enunciated in books written by
various authors from different eras. The two main books are the " Sefer Ietsira"
(Book of Creation) and Sefer ha-zohar, or just Zohar(The Book of Splendor),
written sometime in the 7/8th. centuries. The first book delves into the nature
of god, " eternal nothing " that reveals himself through emanation, and through
this process creates worlds. This process corresponds to 10 fundamental figures
( sefirots - realms or planes )and 22 letters of the Jewish alphabet, which
together form the 32 secret " paths of wisdom." These Sefirots are regarded as "
living beings " or angels, which were described by the prophet Ezekiel (chp.
10). The letters of the alphabet correspond to three parallel worlds of
humanity, planetary spheres and times of the year. Details of this occult
teaching, where numbers and letters are looked upon as a mystical reflection of
the super-feeling of reality, are extremely confusing and contradictory. Like
every occult teaching, Cabala maintains a Pantheistic understanding of divinity.

Cabalists of old were considered specialists
in the fields of alchemy and astrology. Cabala attaches great importance to the
mystical meanings of numbers and letters, as well as the magical powers of God's
names, contained in the Bible.

The enthusiasm shown during the 16th century
to the practice of Cabala, expanded its influence on a wide range of occult
philosophies, including Freemasonry, Theosophy and Anthroposophy. The more
famous thinkers that indulged in this doctrine were Peko de la Mirandola,
Reichen and Paratsells. Cabala spawned a number of sects, the more well- known
being Sabbatai Zevi and Hasidism.

GNOSTICISM

This word comes from the Greek - "gnosis",
meaning knowledge - and was used by sects, appearing with the dawning of Christianity. In
the first 3 centuries, the ideologies of Gnosticism became a great hindrance to
the Christian Church. The Gnostics attempted to "elevate" Christianity by
supplementing it with " gems " from heathen cultures, Eastern occultism and
Greek philosophy. This created a fantastic distortion of Christian truths.

Gnosticism is divided into two main bodies,
the Eastern or Syrian ( which includes Ophites, Basilides, Kerdops and Markians
) and the Western or Alexandrine ( comprising of Carpocrat and Valentinians.)
The former reflects a distinct influence of Persian dualism belief, where there
are two beginnings - a good God that created the spiritual world, and an evil
god that created the material world.

In Western Gnosticism, there is a strong
presence of Platonism and Neopythagoreanism with its numerous stages of
emanating divinity. At the head of every Gnostic sect, there is the highest
being, which carries different names to express its absoluteness; special
highness, omnipotence, incomparable, infinite & self-enclosed. However, because
the world was in a state of chaos, it was necessary to explain its beginning.
Gnosticism could not acknowledge that the world was created by God because it
would then have to seek out the source of its evil. Consequently, the substratum
of Earth is only served by matter which the Eastern body imagined it in a form
of independent, live, evil being, while its Western counterpart accepted it as
an emanation or shadow of the Absolute, having only an imaginary existence.
However, inert matter could not of itself, create Earth where without a doubt
there is a particle of a higher divinity. The creation of an Earth, made up of
flashes of light & immersed in the darkness of matter, posed a serious problem
to the Gnostics & their labours to unravel this mystery.

In their determinations, they were compelled
to invent a convoluted system of "zones"- "beings" that emanated (flowed) from the
Absolute, much like steps of a waterfall. Some gnostics regard the number of "zones" or
intercessors between the Great Unknowable and the material world as 32 - a magic number
borrowed from the Cabala. The intensity of the influences of the divine
beginning or the darkness of matter was determined by the numerical distance of
the "zone" from the Absolute. The first zone emanating from the Absolute is
Demiurge. It was he that created the world by mixing matter with spiritual
beginnings. The lowest zone is matter and is regarded as evil. Spiritually
predisposed people, caught in the nether world against their will and fretting
in the confines of darkness, can elevate themselves into a higher zone & merge
with the Absolute. This merger can be achieved through the knowledge of the
mysteries of creation i.e. Gnosis.

Accepting matter as evil, the gnostics could
not acknowledge the reality of the incarnate Messiah. A pneumatological being, which Christ
was, could not be placed in the immediate vicinity of evil matter. Consequently,
Docetism came into being, from the word doceo - apparition - proclaiming that
Christ only "appeared" to be human, but was in fact a spirit.

While Gnostic teachings waned into virtual
obscurity after the third century, they carried a profound influence on
subsequent occult movements - Masonry, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, along with
schools of philosophy from Swedenborg, Schopenhauer, Schelling and others. In
summary, Gnosticism places 32 "zonal" beings between God-Absolute & the lower
world.

Some regard this as Demiurge, while others
Logos, Sophia, "world soul" or "female beginning". While these teachings are
quite confusing and self-contradictory, they do sustain a mutual principle of "
divine emanation ", or the usual occult Pantheism.

It has to be sadly noted that the allure of
bridging the gap between God & the lower life, has affected some Russian
theologians, thanks to the efforts of the philosopher Vladimir Soloviev.
Religious thinkers like Archpriests Paul Florensky & Sergei Bulkakov, Prof. N.
Berdaev and some theologians from the Paris Institute of Theology, embraced the
gnostic impressions of Soloviev, and in dedication to the concepts of Sophia,
world soul & " female beginnings in God ", published many works.

CONCLUSION

And so, we have been destined to live in times
of the turbulent re-emergence of every kind of Indo-occult philosophies, which
are forcibly crowding out traditional Christian teachings from the public's
consciousness. The writer of the Book of Revelations, wrote the following,
pertaining to the last days of humanity, "....I saw a beast rising out of the
sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his
heads a blasphemous name... Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,
to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.......All
who dwell on earth will worship him , whose names have not been written in the
Book of Life......" Rev. 13: 1- 8. This is about a modern-day Babylon - world
government that after uniting all the nations of the world, imposes a strict and
vigilant control over all aspects of our private and societal life.

The political aspects and the possible
detailed composition in the nature of a future world government is outside the parameters of this
discourse. The important thing is to touch upon the spiritual side of this
theme, and initially focus on the fact that the apocalyptic dragon will have
many heads. If the head symbolises wisdom and knowledge, then the numerous heads
signify a many-faceted and diverse ideological foundation of the future Babylon.

Neither Christianity nor any other singular
existing religion would be able to satisfy the needs and tastes of everybody.

Not unlike the easily saleable New Age
Movement, the universal pan-religion will be able to unite all the people through its
embodiment and assimilation of the " best " aspects of all the world's
religions. Though the fine details of this universal religion is not known, it
is certain that as in all Indo-occult teachings, its basis will be set on an
impersonal divinity, structured into the head, body and tail of a hellish
monster.

The expression in the Apocalypse " worship the
beast " has no political connotations and plainly means the acceptance of an
antichristian ideology. This doesn't mean that the personal God will be rejected, rather He will be
ignored as non-existent. Christ will be relegated to the modest category as one of
mankind's " teachers."

In ancient Greek mythology, there is a story
where Hercules destroys the monster Hydra, by lopping off its 9 heads. In
reality, to decapitate the multi-headed apocalyptic hydra would not be as easy.
In the spiritual sense, this multi-headed hydra is the Indo-occult teachings and
ideas that are destroying millions of human souls. In the Apocalypse, this
monster is portrayed as cruel and blood-thirsty. However, to be attractive to
people, it's outward appearance will be harmless, sympathetic & even smiling,
beguiling its unsuspecting victims. Otherwise, how could such a monster from the
depths of hell destroy so many souls ?

However, for the faithful, there is no need to
battle with each individual head i.e. to disprove every Indo-theosophical idea.
It can be destroyed through the heart - its rejection of God as a Being.
Therefore, it is sufficient for the Christian to believe with all his heart that
there is a personal God, Creator of Earth Who loves us, and as a caring Father,
is concerned for our salvation and expects loyalty from us, similar to that of
a child's... then all the cunning webs spun by occult ideas would dissipate like
smoke. This is not an open global confrontation, but an individual and internal
battle against the temptations of occult mysticism.

Those who conquer this " beast ", will earn
the crown of eternal life ( Rev. 15:2 ) Fortunately, we are not alone in this
battle. We have Jesus Christ on our side and His promise that no one will be
seized from His hands ( John 10:28 )

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, save us from
the beast from hell, so that we may forever praise You with Your eternal Father and
life-giving Spirit, Amen.

THE NICENE CREED

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, begotten of the Father before all
worlds. Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made; of one
essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made: Who for us men and for
our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and
the Virgin Mary, and was made man; And was crucified also for us under Pontius
Pilate; and suffered and was buried; The third day He rose again, according to
the Scriptures; And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the
Father; And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
Whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and
Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son
together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the prophets. And I believe
in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the
remission of sins. I look for the Resurrection of the dead and Life of the
world to come. Amen.